O'Neill Family
by Little Miss Sci-Fi
Summary: Sam accompanies Jack to a family funeral in Ireland, and Jack finds out what is really going on between Sam and Pete.AU. This is a Fic I did ages ago thought I'd post it here. Hope you like. Complete
1. Chapter 1

-1Sam was sitting over her laptop bored out of her mind, they were on a planet that had nothing for her to do. Daniel and Teal'c were translating some runes while she and O'Neill were sitting just out side the temple. The Colonel had his cap covering his face as if sleeping when the radio cracked on

"SG1 this is the SGC come in" Hammonds voice came thru the radio.

Jack pulled off his hat and looked puzzled at Sam before answering "This is O'Neill, what can I do for you sir?"

"Jack you need to return to the SGC" Hammond voice came back.

"Sir I just started-" Daniel started to say before Hammond cut in

"Not you son, just Jack" Now Jack was really confused "Sir if I may, why?"

There was a long pause before Hammond answered "I would prefer to speak with

you privately about it Son"

"Umm. Ok sir I'll be back in 30 minutes" Jack responded

"Good SG9 is on its way, you'll meet them half way, oh and bring Major

Carter with you, SGC out." then the radio went dead.

Sam closed down her computer and muttered 'bless that man' under her breath

so only Jack could hear. He couldn't help but chuckle.

They met up with SG9 half way to the gate "O'Neill, Carter" their leader said "Keragen" "Sir" were there responses.

Jack pulled Keragen aside "Got any idea what I did?"

The man looked and shook his head "All I know is Dixon left this morning." Jack's face fell, and he nodded to the other Colonel.

"Have fun with Danny, and don't kill him, he does come in handy some times." Jack said over his shoulder as he and Sam continued on their way.

It took them another ten minutes to get to the gate. When they got there Sam dialled and Jack sent the signal thru. When they reached the other side the General was there waiting for them, "Major please go and get your medical done and shower then come to my office I need to have a word with you." Sam nodded, as she started to leave she heard the General speak to Jack "Come to my office son." before she was out of earshot.

They walked up to the briefing room and into Hammonds office. Walter was waiting for them "I'm sorry sir, but you asked to be told when I got an answer."

"Ah yes thank you Walter, and what did they say?" Hammond asked

"That the plane will be ready to leave in three hours sir"

"Good, that will be all. Oh, hold all my calls until I'm finished"

"Yes sir" then Walter left closing the door behind him.

"Jack, have a seat" Hammond pointed to the chair across form him. When Jack was seated he asked "Which one died sir?"

Hammond looked at Jack, he new he wasn't as dumb as he acted around people, hell he'd read all of Jack's record, "there was a phone call from a Kristen O'Neill, it was sent on to me because you were off world". Jack cringed at the name "she was calling to inform you that an Alex O'Neill was killed in action." Jack paled considerably as he leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Hammond chose to continue "and his funeral will be held in two days in Ireland". Jack looked up at his CO.

"There's a plane waiting for you at Peterson" Jack just nodded "I'm sorry son; I'd say he was a fine officer"

Jack put his head back down "Alex was a she not a he sir, and she was a damn fine officer. I should know, I trained her."

"Then I'm positive she was" there was a pause before Hammond spoke again "Go and get your medical done then all you have to do is pack and get to Peterson". Jack rose and was about to leave before turning to Hammond "Sir, Dixon has left right?"

"Yes son, he and his family left this morning" Jack nodded and left the room.

Hammond looked back down at his desk, Jack had lost a lot of people and Hammond had seen how he reacted, he'd never seen him so…he didn't even know what it was he saw in Jack this time.

Jack made his way to the infirmary. When he reached it Sam was just leaving and the two bumped into one another "oh sorry sir" he just nodded and moved to leave. "Sir is every thing ok?" but he didn't respond just kept going, she looked puzzled and worried at the same time. He looked so lost. She thought it would be best to not speak of it to him so she decided to skip her shower and went to see the General.

When Sam reached Hammond's office the door was open. She knocked and he looked up "ah Sam, come in and close the door". She did as she was told

"Sam I need a favour from you" she looked at him suspiciously.

"Does it have to do with the Colonel sir?"

"Ah I see you've seen him then, yes it does. I want you to go with him Sam."

"Where sir?" she asked

"Ireland" he said "now if you need to stay to organize your wedding with Pete, I understand-"

"No! Its fine sir" she said quickly "When do we leave?"

Hammond looked at her suspiciously but couldn't see a thing. "Two and a half hours from Peterson" Sam nodded and rose when she just reached the door Hammond spoke agene "Oh and Sam",

"Hmm?"

"Jack doesn't know you're going with him yet" he smiled sweetly.

"Oh thanks" she muttered not knowing George could hear.

Sam made her way to the locker room. When she got there Jack was changing "Oh sorry sir."

He looked at her "it's ok"

"Umm.sir?"

"Yeah"

"The General wants me to go with you to Ireland." At her words Jack stopped and turned to look at her "what did he tell you?"

She frowned, that was not the question she was expecting, she was thinking he would say 'why'.

"Carter?" he said snapping her out of her trance

"Umm just that you had to go to Ireland sir," he nodded

"Ok, well if you're coming get a move on" she nodded and began to change "I'll wait outside" then he turned and left.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

"Sam got engaged in Season 8 Affinity, Hammond was no longer at the SGC, she was a and Jack was a Brig. General and not a Major and Colonel. Basic knowledge of the show and the ranks at least should be a requisite before even intending to write a fic."

As an Anonyms reviewer has stated above that I have the seasons muddled around and that would be why it is an AU story, it is based in the earlier seasons but with Pete. 

Also for those who do not like my fic I would prefer you do not review or if you do to at least have the guts to give me a chance to defend myself to you privately instead of like this.

For every one else who has reviewed thank you so much! They are very welcome.

* * *

There was a SUV waiting for Jack and Sam at the surface to take them to both their homes and then to Peterson.

They went to Sam's house first as Jack's was closer to Peterson. Both of them got out and made their way to the house. Once inside Sam grabbed her mail and asked "Sir, is it cold this time of year in Ireland?" while pressing the button on her answering machine. There was one message from Mark, Sam's brother

"Hey Sam, I guess your off on some mission or something I was just wondering where you were, give us a call when you get a chance."

And a message from Pete,

"Sam! I really need to talk to you. Look you can't just expect me to sit  
around and so help me God Sam I know you're there, just pick up the GOD  
DAMN PHONE"

Sam tried to turn the message off but Jack stopped her.

"SAM I KNOW YOUR THERE. ANSWER ME YOU WHORE-" Jack deleted the message and looked at Sam but she wouldn't look at him. She turned and walked down the hall to her room, Jack not far behind.

She was packing her bag when he walked in. She knew he was there, she could feel his eyes on her.

"Did he ever hit you?" he asked. Sam froze, and when she didn't answer Jack already knew the answer. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" Sam ignored his question and continued packing. He decided to leave it for the time being, he had other things that he needed to think about at the moment.

They were out of the house within ten minutes. Sam locked the house then her and Jack walked back to the SUV and waiting airman. Their next stop was Jack's house.

Upon entering his house, Jack did his usual routine of flicking the answering machine on and putting the mail on the table next to the door. There were no messages on the machine so he moved on down the hall to the bedroom. Jack was a lot quicker at packing than Sam and reappeared only five minutes later with a bag in hand.

Sam was in the living room looking at the pictures on his mantle and wall. He came up behind her and she knew he was there but did not turn. "Who are they?" she asked pointing to a picture of a tall brunette wearing a sundress and a little girl that looked to be only four or five. "I've never noticed this one before."

Jack flinched but didn't answer. Instead he moved back to the door, "I'lltell you on the plane." She nodded and moved to follow.

When they arrived at Peterson the base CO appeared and both Sam and Jack saluted him, which he did back, before speaking "Hello Jack, long time no see." Jack shook the man's hand.

"You to Sir,"

"Well your plane is waiting over on the runway. It's ready to leave when you are." Jack nodded.

"Good, thanks" Jack said shaking the man's hand again.

"Not a problem Jack"

Both Sam and Jack moved to grab their bags. They thanked the airman and dismissed him before moving to the aircraft waiting for them.

When they were settled onboard the small plane and it had taken off Jack moved to the cockpit to talk to the pilot. When he came back he could see Sam looking out the window. He sat down opposite her at the table "I have a lot to tell you, if you want to know" Sam looked at him.

"You don't have to-" she started to say but he cut her off

"Yes I do, were going to Ireland 'for cryin' out loud'" he barked. "Hammond called me back because he received a call from my sister, Kristina, telling him that one of my siblings was killed in action." He looked at Sam but she just looked at him so he continued "Alex was one of my favourite siblings. The two of us were like to peas in a pod, as my mum used to say" Jack smiled at the memory.

Sam just looked at him. He looked so different somehow, happy.

When Jack snapped out of his daze he looked at Sam "Sorry" he mumbled.

"No need, you of all people know I do that a lot" she said, which made him chuckled but then he went serious again.

"Alex was the woman in the picture you asked me about earlier, and the little girl was her only child, and my goddaughter." He looked out the window and watched the sky go by. "Alex was Kowalski's wife. One of the hardest things I had to do was tell her that he was dead, but it was worse to not be able to tell her the truth" he looked at Sam. "It was just after I told her that he was dead when she found out she was pregnant with Cleo. She only got to be with her mother for five years, and never got to know her father." He turned to look out the window again.

Sam didn't know what to say, she'd never seen Jack like this. He was usually a very private person, and not in her wildest dreams did she ever think he'd tell her any of this. Sure, deep down she really hoped that one day when all this was over the two of them could get to know each other on a more personal level, but not now. He looked so sad you could see how much this was hurting him.

Sam reached out and laid her hand on top of his, and the two just sat in silence for a while.

The co-pilot stepped out of the cockpit to check on the two passengers. They had been flying for over four hours, and as he stepped out he found them sitting at the table playing cards.

"Sir, Ma'am," he said to get their attention. Jack looked up at him.

"Yes"

"We are just about to start flying over the sea; it will take another seven to eight hours to reach Shannon airport Sir. General Hammond also asked us to make sure both of you ate so there should be food in the mini-fridge at the bar"

Sam smiled at that, "Bless that man" she mumbled under her breath as the co-pilot moved back to the cockpit

Jack looked at her, "what?" she asked.

"Why do you keep saying that? You said it when we were on that planet as well."

She smiled "I don't know, it was always a joke with him and my dad, they used to work together"

Jack nodded and stood up and moved to the fridge. "So what do you want?" he asked "there's salad, fruit, jell-o, oh", he reached in and pulled out a plate, "Cake!!" he smiled happily at her.

She looked at him and chuckled, then stood up and moved over to where he was and looked into the fridge "sir I think we should leave that, we don't want to eat it now and then decide we want more later" she asked "do we?"

He made a puppy eyes at her and pouted "Ok!", which only made her laugh harder.

They grabbed some fruit and salad and sat down to eat. While doing so Jack told Sam some stories about what he and Alex used to get up to. At the end of one story Sam decided to ask the question that had been on her mind for a while

"Sir, how many siblings do you have, if you don't mind me asking?" Jack looked at her.

"I was wondering when you'd ask me that" he gave her that small smirk of his that gave her butterflies in the bottom of her stomach. "I'll make a deal with you. Actually no, we'll play a game, sort of like twenty questions. Ok?" she hesitated but nodded.

"Cool, ok I'll answer your question." He stopped to think "I have four younger brothers and five younger sisters" Sam just gaped at him, "you no if the wind changes you'll be stuck like that" he said sheepishly.

"Five years and I never knew you had family" she finally said after a minute "and that big one at that."

Jack laughed at that "Ok, it's my turned to ask the question," Sam nodded slowly; she had a feeling she knew what the question would be and was not looking forward to answering. "Ok, did Shanahan hit you?"

She looked down at her hands that were sitting on the table. Still looking down she answered "Yes" she whispered, she then stood and moved to go to the toilet.

TBC…

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	3. Chapter 3

Sam had been in the bathroom for a while when Jack finally moved to the door. He knocked and called "Carter c'mon, please come out." When there was no response Jack continued to talk "Look, I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you, please come out"

The door unlocked and Sam stepped out. She wasn't wearing the sweater that she had been wearing before, now she just had on a small black tank top; but that wasn't what caught Jack's eye. There was bruising all over her chest and upper arms. Unconsciously Jack reached out to touch it; he laid his hands on her upper arms and when he finally looked up at her face he could see tears dripping down her cheeks.

Jack did the only thing he knew to do; he pulled her into his arms. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked after a few minutes?

"I thought I could stop him myself, but it just got worse, and I couldn't" she mumbled into his chest.

Jack sat them both on the sofa and just held her for as long as she needed him to. But it wasn't long until she was asleep. Jack gently laid her down and covered her with a blanket. He just sat there watching her for a while, making sure she was asleep before making his way to the cockpit.

The two pilots looked back at him as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Sir, is every thing ok?" the pilot asked.

Jack sat down in the spare seat "umm… yeah, but is it possible to contact Cheyenne mountain?" the co-pilot nodded and said something into his headset, before handing it back to Jack.

"Here sir, they're connecting you now."

"Ok thanks," Jack took the headset and put them on.

"This is the SGC" Walter's voice came thru.

"Hey Walter, this is O'Neill, would you do me a favour and get the General for me?"

"Of course Sir," after a moment another voice came on "Colonel is there a problem?"

"Well, yes and no Sir. The trip is going fine, and I think it was a good idea sending Carter with me, but I found out something I don't think you'll be too pleased about" Jack said then mumbled "I know I'm not."

"Colonel?" Hammond said in a questioning voice.

"Sir, it would appear Shanahan was not as nice as he seemed."

"What are you trying to say Jack?"

"He was hitting Carter. Pretty bad from what I can see; she has bruises all over her chest and upper arms. I'm not sure if there is anymore but I'm guessing there is."

There was a long pause before Hammond responded "when did you find out about this Jack?"

"Well there was a message on her answering machine when we got to her place that started me thinking, and she's had some bruising that she was blaming on missions or being clumsy at home."

"Ok, is she ok?"

"Umm…not really, I think it would be best to keep her away from him for a while. I was calling to see what you could do about that, Sir"

"Ok, I'll go listen to the message on her phone. Call if you need anything else Jack"

"Yes Sir, thank you. Em one thing though sir, I sort off deleted the message"

"No problem son, I'll have Walter have a look at it, and don't worry I'll makes sure he doesn't say anything. Keep me apprised" then the line went dead.

Jack looked at the two pilots, and handed back the headset, "I don't need to tell you to keep what you just heard to yourself do I?"

The pilot spoke "No sir,"

"Good, how long until we land?" Jack asked, "Still about five hours until we land in Shannon" the pilot replied.

Jack nodded "ok, I'm going try and get some sleep, but before I do, do either of you want any food? There's still some in the fridge?"

The co-pilot spoke this time "no thanks Sir, we were given food as well"

Jack nodded and left them alone. When he re-entered the cabin Sam was still asleep on the sofa. He moved to the seat next to her, and got comfy before falling asleep.

Jack woke four hours later, but when he looked to check on Sam she was no longer asleep and the sofa. He turned and looked at the table and a small smile spread across his face; both slices of cake were sitting on the table waiting to be eaten, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. He moved to stand when he heard the bathroom door open and Sam stepped out. She was now wearing her sweater.She smiled a small smile at him "Hi sir."

"Hey Carter, how long have you been up?"

"Not to long, I'd say about half and hour."

Jack nodded and moved towards the bathroom as Sam moved to sit down at the table. A few minutes later Jack reappeared and sat down at the table opposite her. They both started eating the cake, and Jack started explaining more about his family. "Well, I've told you I have five sisters and four brothers, what else do you want to know?"

Sam had to think about it for a minute. "Ok, what are their ages? You said they were all younger brothers and sisters, but what is the order?"

"Hum…ok it goes me and Krissy, then Mel and Sib, who by the way is married to Dixon, and another one of my old team members, Col. Jennings, is marred to Mel." Sam looked at him funny "I know, I know, most of my original special ops team married into my family. Ok, well back on track. Umm, next are Alex and Patch, then Mac and Sean and lastly Sahara and Mick."

Sam thought about it for a minute "So their all twins?" Jack nodded, "which means you and…" she trailed off.

"Yep, Krissy and I are twins"

"Wow."

Jack chuckled "Is that all you can say?" She just stared at him "I take that as a yes."

After a minute Sam snapped out of her trance "ok, anything else?"

"Umm… oh yeah, my dad is a Lt. General in the US Air Force" he said smiling. Sam laid her head down on the table and mumbled "What have I gotten myself into?" Jack chuckled softly.

"Don't worry I'm sure A-" Jack paused and looked at his hands realizing what he was about to say.

Sam reached over to take his hand. "I'm sure they'll all love you" he said after a minute.

"You're really going to miss her aren't you?"

"Yes I am, she was always there for me and me for her" he whispered.

TBC…

Well? What did you think? Let me know please!!


	4. Chapter 4

Their plane landed about twenty minutes later. They thanked the two pilots and wished them a safe stay.

When they reached the exit of the airport there were three men standing in front of two Ford Land Rovers. Jack didn't see them at first but Sam did and she recognized one of them as Dixon. When Jack finally saw them, the oldest man of the three walked up. "Hey Dad" Jack said before pulling the man into a big hug.

"Hello Jack" the man said back.

Dixon and the other man nodded in hello, then Dixon turned to Sam "hey Carter, what are you doing here?"

"Well, Hammond thought I needed some company on the flight", Jack said, "and to keep me from doing anything stupid" Dixon nodded. "Carter this is my father General Jonathan O'Neill and my brother in-law Col. Conner Jennings. Dad, Conner, this is Major Samantha Carter" Jack introduced. "And you already know butthead so…"

"Sir's" Sam said nodding.

"Please call me John, most people do."

"And me Conner" they both said.

Jack snorted "Fat chance if she'll call you anything but sir" Jack said smiling at Sam who was blushing slightly, "so what are we waiting for?"

"Sahara and Mick's flight landed just after yours so they should be here-"

"Behind you at this very moment" a female voice said from behind them. A young man and woman stood behind them both dressed in what Sam assumed to be there daily uniforms.

"Hey squirt" Jack said pulling the young woman into a hug. "Hey Mick" he said, shaking the young mans hand. "Oh Mick, Sahara this is-"

"Major Samantha Carter" Mick finished smiling. "I'm Michael and this is Sahara; we're Jack's youngest siblings" he said politely shaking Sam's hand. Sam then shook Sahara's hand as well.

Jack looked puzzled "How did you know-"

"We know all 'J'" Sahara said, then turned to her father. "Can we go, I really need a shower and change of clothes" the man nodded.

"Jack, Sam go with Dave and Conner and I'll take these two; we'll see you at the house" then they all went their separate ways.

The drive took about thirty minutes; Jack and Sam were in the back with Dixon driving and Jennings in the passenger seat. Jennings turned to Sam "So Carter, what has Jack told you about the O'Neill clan?"

Jack moaned and Sam smiled "umm… just that he has a big family." Dixon chuckled and Jennings turned to Jack but continued talking.

"So you know about Jacks huge family, how about that he and his twin don't get along to well-"

"Shut it Conner" Jack said. Jennings put up his hand in defense. "How's mum?" Jack asked.

Dixon answered "Taking it as well as can be expected, she knew the risks that exist in Special Ops" he stated.

Jack nodded and turned to Sam "I never told you about my mum did I?" he asked. She shook her head no "well she's a full on air-force wife and mum." He continued to tell her about his mum, Dixon and Jennings pitched in as well, and all too soon they arrived at two big gates which opened after Dixon punched in a code. There was a long drive up to a huge old castile like house. Jack turned to Sam "welcome to the O'Neill estate" he said sheepishly.

Sam looked at him as if he'd grown two heads. When the car stopped they all hoped out and Jack and Sam moved to grab their bags out of the back while Dixon and Jennings moved to the door to tell everyone they were here.

They had just reached the door when it opened and a small girl ran out. She went straight to Jack and launched herself at Jack's legs.

Jack looked down at the small child "well hello to you too, my little angel" he said, picking her up and putting her and his hip "haven't we gotten big" she giggled.

"Hey Unkie 'J'" she tilted her head and looked at him "you look more like grandpa now" she said as she patted his hair. Sam giggled from her spot next to them, which caught the child's attention. "Hi, I'm Cleo, who are you?" she asked politely.

Sam looked at the five year old; she had never met a more polite five year old or confident one. "Umm, I'm Sam, I work with your uncle Jack" then she thought to add "and your uncle Dave" she said looking at the man.

The child seemed to think for a minute before looking at Dixon with a questioning look. He nodded and she said "Oh that Sam." Jack and Sam looked at Dixon who just smiled and moved to go into the house. The two adults and child made to follow, but Sam hesitated a bit.

Jack noticed this "You'll be fine" he said and took her sleeve and pulled her along. When they walked into the house they were greeted by a lot of people. And after all the introductions were over and everything had settled down, Jack asked "Where's mum?"

Sib, Dixon's wife, who Sam had met once or twice before, was a slender looking woman with green eyes and shoulder length red hair, answered "she's in the kitchen, baking I think." Jack nodded and pulled Sam along the hallway towards what she assumed was the kitchen. When they reached the door, Cleo who was still in Jack arms called out "Grammy Unkie 'J' is here." Jack put her on the ground "and he has a girl with him."

The woman in the kitchen chuckled and turned, wiping her hands on her apron "hello Jonathan." Jack moved and kissed her on the cheek. "And who is this" she asked, looking at Sam.

"Oh mum this is Major Samantha Carter, my 2IC, Sam this is my mum."

"It's lovely to meet you Mrs. O'Neill" Sam said politely.

"Oh please call me Lea, I feel old when people call me Mrs. O'Neill" she said.

"Ok, then call me Sam" Jack smiled; he knew the two would love each other.

"Is that cake I smell?" Jack asked. "Oh, and Cookies" he sounded like a child at Christmas. He reached out to take a cookie, and got a smack on the hand "ow."

"After dinner" she said. Cleo giggled at her Grammy and uncle, and Sam smiled.

"It's dinner time?" Jack asked, looking out the window and then to the clock on the wall "Wow it's 6:30."

"Yes, I'll show you to your rooms, just give me a minute." She moved to the stove and lifted the lid off of a big pot, the smell that came out made Sam's mouth water.

"That smells delicious" she said.

"Oh you haven't tasted cooking until you've tried my mum's or baking now that I think about it" Jack said. Lea blushed slightly.

"You're as bad as your father at making my cooking out like that" she whacked him with a towel. "Now come on, I'll show the two of you to your rooms"

"Umm, how did you know Sam was coming?" Jack asked.

"What makes you think I knew she was coming?" Lea replied. Jack just looked at her as if saying 'why did I bother asking you that'. "That's another thing you inherited from your father" she said walking up the main staircase of the house.

"What does he get from me?" the man in question asked, walking in from where the rest of the family was.

"Nothing dear" she said sweetly and continued up the stairs. John looked at Jack with the same confused look Jack gets when he really has no idea what you're talking about.

The three of them made it up the stairs and followed Lea"ok Sam you're in here." She opened the door and they entered the bedroom; it was beautiful, there was a four poster bed with curtains around it, and a large wardrobe, a vanity table, and it had an en-suite bathroom with shower.

"Wow" she said and Jack couldn't help but chuckle. Sam shook her head and said "sorry."

"No don't worry, I said the same thing the first time I saw this place" Lea said. "Now Jack you're in the room across the hall. Why don't we leave both of you to unpack; dinner will be ready in about half an hour."

"Ok, thanks mum," both his parents left taking Cleo with them. Jack turned to Sam, "you ok?" he asked. She had her back turned to him and was looking out the window down to the back garden where all his nieces and nephews were.

She nodded and looked at him "this is one hell of a big family" she said.

Jack nodded "Yep it is; I'll leave you to unpack, and I'll come back to get you when it's time for dinner, ok?"

"Yes Sir, thanks."

Jack had already turned to leave but he turned back to Sam. "Sam, please call me Jack not sir; neither of us are on duty, unless this is a mission Hammond sent you on, so please no sir"

"Ok, I'll try Jack" Jack gave her a full blown smile before leaving.

TBC…

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	5. Chapter 5

When Jack left the room Sam started to unpack her bag. When she packed she hadn't know how long they would be here, heck now that she thought about it, she still had no idea.

It wasn't long before Jack came back. When she opened the door Jack stood there "hey, has it been a half an hour already?" she asked

"Umm, no I was just…I thought I should tell you a bit more about…" Jack trailed off, waving his hand to indicate to the house.

Sam nodded and moved back into the room. Sam sat on the bed while Jack sat on the old chest at the end of the bed. "Ok, the easiest thing to do is for you to ask and me to answer" Jack said.

"Umm, I don't have anything to ask at the moment" Sam said.

Jack shrugged his shoulders "Ok, well let's go downstairs, you're going to love mums stew" he said, rubbing his stomach.

Their dinner was lovely and Jack was right, his mother was a great cook. After dinner all the kids went down to the play room while the adults moved into one of the sitting rooms.

The topic of conversation was the funeral, so the room was very solemn. It was going to be a family funeral so they had a lot to discuss. After awhile Jack's brothers and sisters went to get their kids and head off to bed. Dixon and Sib were the first to leave They had four kids, Sara and James, 9 and Hannah and Tim 7. Sib was also pregnant, so they had another two kids on the way.

Not long after that Jack's brother Mac and his wife Maria headed off. They just had two kids, Mickey and Abby, both 6. Jennings and Mel left at the same time; they had two boys Aaron and Luke 8. Sean and his wife Cara also had four kids; Shane and Ciara were 5 and Jenni and Nicola were 7.

Kris was the last to go put her kids to bed. She and her husband Jimmy had six kids'. Four boys, Keith 15, Jordan 10, Caleb 10, Andrew 13, and two girls, Callie 13 and Jasmine 15.

That left John, Lea, Patch, Mick, Sahara, Jack and Sam. Jack went to get Cleo and came back with her in his arms a few minutes later. He sat down on the sofa next to Sam and placed Cleo on his lap. They all started talking about one thing or another.

Sam was looking at the little girl sitting on her CO's lap. Jack had told her on the flight over that she was five. Sam looked at her and smiled; she had pulled Jack's dog tags out from under his shirt. Her mind was pulled from the child when Sahara asked her a question.

"So Sam, how long have you known 'J'?"

"What, nearly six years now?" she asked Jack, who just nodded.

"Ok, do you have any good stories?" she asked. Jack frowned at his little sister, but Cleo spoke before he could say anything.

"Yea, yea story 'bout unkie 'J'" Sam looked at him.

"Sorry Sir, but there's just know way I can say no to her." Jack slumped his shoulders and gave in, so Sam thought about which story she wanted to tell. "Umm, lets see, oh I know a good one" Jack groaned, knowing this was bound to be bad. "There was this time he played golf in Cheyenne Mountain" Jack looked at her.

"How did you know that?" he asked in a hi-pitched voice.

"T told me" she said proudly.

Jack looked a little nervous, "What else did he tell you about that…experience?" the only thing he could think about was the kiss.

"Umm, you made pottery, rode a bike thru the base, and what else, oh yeah, you taught him how to juggle."

"Is that all he told you" he asked, still a little worried. She nodded, Jack let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Was there more?" she asked.

"No, no, nothing" he said "come on little angel, let's get you to bed" he said picking up Cleo.

"But I'm (yawn) not tired."

"Well, we were all just about to head off to bed to munchkin, I'm pooped" Mick said, standing next to Jack and putting a hand thru her hair. "Ok, unkie Jack will you tuck me in?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way" he said and moved toward the hall.

"Night grandpa, grammy, unkie Mick, auntie Sahara, Miss Sam" there was a chorus of good nights.

Mick sat back down in the seat he had been occupying. "Dad, do you know whose going to take Cleo?"

John looked at his wife then back to his youngest son. "The lawyers won't tell us anything until the reading of her will, but if I had to put money on it I'd say Jack" Mick nodded.

"Well I'm going to go get some shut eye, I've been up for God only knows how many hours" Sahara said and Mick nodded in agreement. "Night mum, dad, Sam" they both said.

Once they were both gone Sam looked around at the pictures on the walls; she looked at one picture in particular and frowned. She stood and moved over to it and John and Lea both looked at Sam.

"Is something the matter?" John asked coming up behind her.

Sam pointed to the picture "When was this?" It was a picture of four men and a girl who she assumed was Alex at a younger age.

John smiled "Oh that, umm…Lea do you remember?" Lea came over to see the picture.

"Yes, that was about 1984; Alex was assigned to them after Jack went MIA."

"Oh yes, they're-"

"General Ryan, Senator Hays, General Hammond and General Carter" Sam said, John looked at her.

"How did you-"

He was cut off by Jack walking in "Well Cleo's out cold" he looked puzzled at Sam's angry face. "What?" he asked.

"My dad apparently worked with Alex" Sam said, Jack frowned.

"When?" Jack asked.

"Umm, we think it was in about 1984" Lea said. Jack moved to look at the picture.

"Is that Hammond?" he asked, Sam smiled and nodded "and Ryan" he laughed. "I wonder if Hammond knew she was my sis."

Sam shrugged her shoulders "If she was anything like you I'd say he and dad may have put two and two together." She said and then yawned, "Sorry."

Jack looked at the photo again, and then pointed at it to Sam "Look Hammond and your dad have HAIR! I'm so getting a copy of this." Sam started laughing at the way he said it, as if he never knew they had hair.

"Well, we have seen the general with hair, remember?" she said, thinking of the incident when they went back to 1969.

"Oh yeah" was all Jack said. And then he mumbled "I still want a copy, it could come in handy."

"Ok, now that you both figured that out, off to bed. It's nearly midnight" Lea said.

After all the good nights were said they all went to their rooms.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

The funeral went as planned; most of the men in the family were in their dress blue uniforms, as well as Sam, but Mac, Sean and Mick were in there dress greens (I think that is the dress colour of the Irish Air force, but I may very well be wrong) along with Sahara who insisted on wearing hers.

There were a lot of people there to pay their respects to Alex, as well as her entire team. Cleo, who both Jack and Sam knew, knew full well what was happening, stayed close to Jack during the whole service.

After Alex was laid to rest all the guests went back to the manor for the wake. About an hour into it Cleo came back to Jack who was talking to Alex's team members with Dixon and Jennings. They were sharing stories about all the trouble Alex could get into.

Cleo tugged on Jack sleeve to get his attention; when he saw her he put down his glass and picked her up. One of Alex's old team-mates asked "Is this the little Cleo we have heard so much about?" Cleo looked at him and saw the two silver bars on his collar. She gave him a small salute "sir, yes sir" she said quietly, the men smiled and chuckled.

"Well, it's and honour to finally met you" the caption said, the rest of the team agreed.

Cleo smiled, and then looked at Jack with a funny expression on her face; she had just remembered why she was here. She turned to look at Jack, "unkie Jack, Miss Sam is upset" Jack frowned "Where is she sweetie?" he asked.

"Outside talking to a strange man."

Dixon asked the next question before Jack had a chance "who is he?" Cleo shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but he looked angry, and he grabbed her here" she showed by poking Jennings in the rib.

Jack's head shot up, remembering the bruises on her ribs. He placed Cleo on the ground, "Sweetie go and sit with your auntie Sib until I come back" she nodded and moved off.

Dixon shot Jack a confused look, but he just excused himself and moved to where Cleo said Sam was. Dixon and Jennings followed suit. When Jack reached the front door Sam was nowhere in sight, but it wasn't as loud out here, so it wasn't hard for him to hear the quiet noise; it sounded like sobbing. Dixon and Jennings could hear it as well.

Jack moved to the side of the house and the crying got louder as they reached the corner. When they turned the corner, Jack saw that Shanahan had Sam pined to the wall, his face was buried in her neck as he rammed into her. Sam saw Jack come around the corner; it only took him a second to see the look of fear in Sam eyes before he had Shanahan on the ground beating the shit out of him.

It took a moment for everything to register in Dixon and Jennings' minds before they were at Sam's side, but she wouldn't let them touch her.

"Jack" Dixon said, Jack looked at him, and then back to Shanahan who was now out cold. He moved over to Sam and gently took her hand. She looked at him before crawling into his arms and crying her eyes out. Jack looked at Dixon "go and get dad." He nodded, then jumped up and was gone. Jennings was sitting next to Shanahan making sure if he did wake up he wouldn't get away.

It wasn't long before John and Dixon returned. When John saw Sam he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh my god" was all he could say. Her skirt was torn as was her shirt. He then looked to the man lying on the ground on his back. "Umm… Jack take her up to your room, I'll see where your mother is and send her up"

Jack nodded and began to get up, Sam tightened her grip on him, "Shush" Jack said, "it's ok I'm just going to take you upstairs, ok?" he asked.

She nodded and he lifted her up and carried her around to a side entrance that had a stairwell that led up to the bedrooms. When he reached his room he tried to lay her on the bed but she wouldn't let go of him, so he sat down with her on his lap.

It was about five minutes later that Lea came in, closely followed by Mel and Krissy. When Lea tried to touch her Sam flinched away and tightened her grip on Jack. "It's ok Sam they're not going to hurt you, I promise." Jack was finally able to convince her that she was safe with them.

Krissy, who was the Doc of the family, gave Sam a mild sedative. Once she was asleep, Jack laid her on the bed and was promptly shooed out of the room.

Jack was standing outside the room when his father came up the stairs and over to him, "What happened?" he asked.

Jack sighed and sat down in the chair across the hall. He rubbed his hands across his face before answering, "that… man, is Pete Shanahan, he is Sam's fiancé." John looked at him "don't look at me like that"; Jack said "this was not a jealous fit. He has been beating her and from the bruises I have seen I'd say he has been for awhile." Jack let out a heavy breath, "I don't know if he's done this before."

John nodded "Jack this isn't your fault, there's no way you could have known he was coming"

"That's what I can't figure out," he looked up at his father. "How the hell did he know she was here?"

John couldn't answer and they stayed there in silence for a while. Soon the door opened and Mel and Krissy stepped out. Jack jumped to his feat "is she ok?" he asked; Mel looked to Krissy.

"Jack…" Krissy started "…she be ok in time."

"What" Jack asked, "what aren't you telling me?"

"She… miscarried Jack." Jack closed his eyes.

"Dose she know she lost the baby?" he asked in a whisper. Krissy laid a hand on his shoulder; she had seen the second that the two had walked into the house that Sam held a special place in Jack's heart.

"She is awake and we told her as gently as we could, but she won't speak to any of us. Maybe you should give it a try" Jack nodded and moved past her. Before he entered the room he turned, "Thank you, both of you." They both nodded. And Jack moved on into the room.

TBC…

So? Well? Tell me what you thought!! I love Reviews!!


	7. Chapter 7

When Jack walked into the room he saw his mother sitting on the bed. Sam was lying with her back to her curled up in a ball. The big duvet was covering her bruised and battered body.

When Lea saw Jack she rose from her position and moved to him. There were no words needed, but she laid a hand on his arm before moving out the door. He moved over to the bed and sat on the bed where his mother had previously been.

"Sam," it was a horse whisper, weaker than he thought possible "I'm so sorry" he said sadly.

Sam turned and looked at him, "They told you?" she asked. He nodded slightly and she moved over to him; he laid his right hand on hers.

"I asked them" he said, but she wasn't listening and he knew it, a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I lost my baby" she whispered. Jacks heart tore, he knew what it felt like to lose a child; but not like what Sam had gone threw. She'd had to feel the child die inside her. He couldn't stand seeing her cry and he pulled her into a long hug and she cried into his shoulder.

When she had finally stopped crying she lifted her head to look at him. "Why don't you try and sleep" he said. She nodded and carefully moved to lie down, as she was still very tender from the wounds Pete had inflicted earlier. He went to stand when her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist.

"Please don't go" she said in a panicked voice. "Please stay with me" she lifted the covers up to get him to join her under them.

"Sam, are you sure?" he asked, she nodded. So he did as she requested and took of his everything but his t-shirt and boxers. Sam lay on her side with Jack next to her. He gently put his arm around her because us of the bruising around her ribs and abdomen. It wasn't long before the two were asleep.

Jack woke a few hours later and when he looked down to check on Sam, he found her still asleep. He carefully untangled himself from her, and went to the bathroom. When he came back out Sam was sitting up slightly. "Hey" he said, moving towards the bed "How are you?"

"A little sore, and hungry, but I'm ok" she said.

"Ok well I'm going to go down and grab us some dinner." A flash of fear crossed Sam's face and Jack reached out and took her hand. "Its ok, I'll only be a few mints" she relaxed slightly and there was a knock on the door. Jack move to open it and when he did he saw his mother. He opened it wider to let her in.

"Hello dear, I thought you two might be hungry" she said holding up a tray. There were two dinner plates heaped full with roast beef, mash potatoes, and vegetables.

"Yum, I was just about to go down and get some food for us" Jack said

Lea moved over to the bed "Here you go, a good meal will do you both some good" she put the tray on the bed, and turned to leave. "I'll come and get it in awhile, oh and Jonathan your father wants to speak to you" she said before closing the door behind her.

Both of them ate the delicious food and Sam even cleaned her plate, which surprised Jack, but he didn't say anything. Lea came back soon after they had finished. "Hey mum will you stay with Sam while I go see what dad wants? I'll take the tray down as well."

"Of course dear, if Sam is ok with it" Sam just nodded.

Jack went down to see his father; his mum had said he was in the office. He made a slight detour to go and put his and Sam's plates in the kitchen.

When he entered the office most of the men of the family were sitting or standing in the room, "Umm, dad?" he asked confusedly.

John, who was sitting behind the desk looked up at Jack, "Jack, I was hoping to talk to you"

"Yeah, so mum said, what's going on?"

"Well, we found this on Samantha's Dress Blue jacket" he said holding up a small object. Jack moved closer to have a better look at it. It didn't take him long to realize what it was. Jack looked up at his father, "Where is he?" Jack asked thru gritted teeth

"Most of the airmen that were here had to head back to the States. They offered to escort Shanahan back with them and Dave called your CO, General Hammond, and told him what happened; there will be personnel from Cheyenne mountain waiting for Detective Shanahan at Andrews Air Force Base, who will be taking him back to Colorado springs" John said.

Jack nodded "Ok, is there anything else?"

"Yeah, sib and Mel had a look threw Sam's clothes and found three more of these trackers" Dixon pointed to the item in Jack's hand. "But there doesn't seem to be anymore." Jack nodded and moved to the door.

"Oh, what time is it by the way?" Jack asked at the door.

Mac answered "23:40, the two of you slept most of the day" Jack just nodded and left the room.

When Jack arrived back in his bedroom, Sam was nowhere to be seen. He looked at his mother who was sitting on the end of the bed. She stood up and walked toward him, "She went to have a shower." She said as she walked past him, but when she reached to door she turned and looked at her eldest child "Alex's Last Will and Testament will be read at 10:00am in the living room" she said. "Oh and Jack" "Hum" he said "She will be ok now" and she walked out the door, leaving Jack more than slightly confused.

Sam came out of the bathroom about five minutes later. Jack found it hard not to notice that she was now wearing one of his t-shirts and his sweat pants. She gave him a small smile, and moved towards where he was sitting on the bed.

"Hey" he said as she sat down.

"Hey" she echoed back to him.

"What did my mum say to you?"

Sam looked him in the eyes and what Jack saw made him smile; there was humour in them "What?" he asked.

"She was telling me stories" she replied. Jack gowned "Like thinking you could fly" she said in a light tone "Oh and then there was the fishing incident." Jack lay down and buried his head in the pillow while Sam recanted the funny stories Lea had shared with her.

Sam moved to lie next to Jack and he lifted his head up and looked at her; they both smiled. Lea was right, Sam would be ok. Jack knew his mum had said something to her other then the stories, and he hoped someday she would tell him, but he wouldn't push her now.

They both knew that she would need to see a shrink, but she didn't have to look far because she had her own personal shrink lying next to her. One who cared about her a lot more than he was supposed to and also understood what it meant to lose a child.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

\/p>

Jack and Sam lay down together in each others arms, talking for a while before drifting off to sleep. The next morning Sam woke up feeling a warm body next to her. She tensed up for a moment until she opened her eyes and looked up to see soft brown eyes looking down at her and the smile that always melted her heart. She, in return gave Jack one of her special smiles reserved only for him only. Sam knew it was wrong sleeping with her CO, but it felt so right.

"Morning Sam" Jack said.

"Morning Jack" 

"Are you ok?"

"Yes thanks"

"Feel like getting up and joining the rest of the O'Neill family?"

"Yes" 

"Good, I hope your hungry cause mum makes the best Irish breakfast ever" then they heard Sam's stomach rumble and she giggled.

"Hey, what have I told you. no giggling?"

"Sorry"

Then Jack's stomach rumbled, which cause Sam to giggle even more. Jack rolled his eyes before they both got up and dressed. After they freshened up a bit they both walked downstairs. Sam was wearing one of her tracksuit pants and one of Jack's big woollen sweaters that went down past her backside. Jack was wearing a pair of lose fitting jeans and a sweatshirt with a hood.

As they went downstairs Sam tighten her hold on Jack's hand, which he squeezed back. "It's ok" he whispered and Sam nodded slightly. It was only 8:00am but most of the family was already awake, and the kids were running around like mad men. Jack took Sam down to the kitchen where all his sisters and sisters-in-law were, as well as his mum.

Lea smiled when she saw Sam and Jack "Good morning you two."

"Morning mum" Jack said "Morning" Sam said at the same time.

Jack smelled the air "So, what's for breakfast?" He sniffed again "Bacon, eggs, and pudding, yum, we're having an Irish breakfast. What did I tell you Sam?" Lea nodded, while Jack moved over to grab two mugs of coffee for himself and Sam.

Sam was now sitting next to Mel and Krissy. "So Sam got any good stories about Jack?" Sam looked at Mel.

"Umm.not that I can think of" Jack who was standing beside her smiled happily at getting off easy with the story telling. "Oh wait I do, there was this one time when we got Daniel - another member of our team - drunk and married to our CMO." Jack groaned, sitting down next to Mel.

"I honestly don't think they remember it either" he mumbled.

Sam looked at him and patted his head; "trust me, I've done it to people that could get me kicked out of the air force, well their parents could" she mused.

Jack's head shot up "Yeah right, you little miss by the book" he said jokingly. Sam stood and pulled Jack by the hand out of the kitchen and down the hall to the sitting room that they were in on the first night. She pulled him over to the picture of Alex that they had looked at. "General Ryan has three daughters; Lucy, I got her married just after we graduated from the academy. Clare I got married about three years ago, which you helped with by the way, and Jen is too young at the moment. Senator Hays has a son and a daughter; I married his son to Lucy, but I haven't been able to get Elizabeth yet. General Hammond, she looked at Jack and smiled "Hannah, married not long after Lucy, and Maria about a year ago, but I can't really remember who to."

"That would have been me" said a voice from the door; both Jack and Sam jumped and looked around to see most of his family standing there.

"Which one of you said that?" Jack asked.

Patch stepped forward, "Oh yeah" Sam said. 

Jack turned on Sam "You married Hammond's youngest daughter to my brother?" Sam just smiled and chuckled "yeah."

"Does Hammond know?" he asked.

"I don't know, I suppose he could" she said sweetly.

Jack sighed heavily, "I'm so going to get killed" he said before moving back to the now empty door way. "Come on, let's go see if breakfast is ready".

The whole family had their meal in the dining room; it was full of talk but no one brought up the subject of Pete. Sam seemed to be doing better and it wasn't long before the family lawyer arrived to read Alex's will.

The elder children took all the kids out back for the time that was needed and Jack decided to keep Sam near him, so she joined the family in the living room.

Once they were all seated the lawyer started to read the will; "I Alexandra Lea O'Neill Kowalski of sound body and mind, request that if I die before my only child Cleo Charlotte O'Neill Kowalski reaches the age of 18, that she be placed in the custody of my eldest brother Jonathan J O'Neill, and that all my inheritance goes to her as well as every thing that I own." The lawyer finished reading the will and looked up.

"There is a letter for each of her brothers and sisters as well and for John and Lea." They each took their letters, except Jack who was just staring at the lawyer; Sam reached out and took his envelope.

Jack finally regained his voice "She gave me custody?" he asked. 

The man nodded "Yes sir."

Jack stared at the people in the room, "Why?"

John spoke first "You are Cleo's godfather."

"Yeah, but Sahara is her godmother" he retorted.

"Yeah but I'm overseas more than not, and she trusted you with Cleo more than anyone" Sahara replied.

Sam could see Jack was about to say something about being in the same boat but he stopped himself. "Jack, she wouldn't want Cleo with anyone else, she trusted you with her life and she knew you would never hurt Cleo" Dixon said. Jack sat thinking about it; he knew they were right- out of all of them she trusted him the most.

"Ok" was all he said before getting up and leaving. Sam watched him go.

"He thinks that something will happen to her, like what happened to Charlie" Sib said, Sam nodded and stood up and went to find Jack.

It wasn't hard to find him; he was in his room sitting on his bed with his head in hands. He didn't need to look up to know it was Sam; he'd worked with her for years now and he knew it was her by the way she walked. Sam sat down next to him on the bed, not saying anything.

When Jack finally spoke Sam was waiting, "What if it happens again, I wouldn't be able live with it, I just can't go through that again."

"Nothing will happen Jack, what happened back then was an accident; you would never allow that to happen again." She laid her hand and on his, and another on his face so that he would look at her. "We won't let anything happen to Cleo; you won't have to do this alone, I promise" he leaned into her hand and gave a weak smile "Thank you" he whispered.

She nodded and handed him the envelope that Alex had left for him. She moved to leave the room but Jack pulled her back and the two sat back with their backs against the headboard.

Before Jack opened the letter Sam asked "are you sure you want me here?" She was slightly confused; Jack was usually a very private person, and now he was acting like a completely different person.

"Yes" was all he said before he opened the envelope and began to read the letter.

_Well hey 'J', if you're reading this then I died before Cleo was 18 and before you, what a shocker! I know you may think it stupidly irresponsible for me to leave Cleo to you, but I don't care what you think on this matter. You were and will be a great father, and deep down I know you know that. Don't, I beg you, don't let anyone tell you that you were a bad father. Cleo loves you Jack, and she trusts you just like I do. So please do this for me and take care of my baby girl. I only have one favor to ask; please make_

_sure she remembers Charlie and me._

_Thank you Jack, I will miss you so much._

_Love your angel,_

_Alex_

When Jack finished reading the letter tears were streaming down his cheeks; after all the years of working with Jack she had never seen him like this, so Sam did the only thing she could think of, what he does when she needs it, she pulled him into a tight hug.

TBC…..

\/p> 


	9. Chapter 9

\/p>

Two days after the reading of the will Sam, Jack and Cleo headed back to

Colorado. Cleo was obviously still sad, but happy to be going with her unkie

Jack. She had grown to like Sam as well.

They were taking the same plane they flew over in. When they got on board

the two pilots were in the back cabin.

"Colonel, Major, and we seem to have another guest onboard" the pilot said;

Cleo stepped behind Sam's leg. The pilot turned back to Jack, "we'll be

taking off in about ten minutes Sir" Jack nodded and thanked the man. "Oh

and there is food in the fridge, courtesy of a General O'Neill" he said

before they both went to do their pre-flight checks.

Less than twenty minutes later they were in the air and on their way back

home. Sam, Jack and Cleo were sitting at the table; Cleo was sitting in the

seat by the window with Sam next to her and Jack across from her. Cleo had a

small teddy bear in her arms; she had told Sam a few days ago that his name

was Ted, and he was just a plain brown bear that Jack had bought her for her

first birthday. 

They talked for the first few hours of the flight then had some food

consisting of sandwiches and some cookies that Lea had snuck into their

bags.

Soon after they had finished eating Cleo fell asleep. Jack picked her up and

laid her down on the sofa and pulled the blanket over her. Jack and Sam

talked for a while longer before she began to yawn; Jack suggested that they

should get some sleep. She agreed and went to the bathroom, while Jack moved

up to the cockpit.

"We're going to grab some shut-eye," Jack said to the pilots "How much

longer do you think it will take?" he asked.

"I'd say about seven and a half hours Sir" the pilot said. Jack nodded and

thanked them before heading back to the cabin.

Sam was there waiting for him; she smiled at him as he walked over to her.

He sat in the seat behind the table and pulled Sam down to sit on his lap;

she snuggled down into his chest as he put his feet on the chair across from

him.

They both slept for about six hours before they awoke to a small giggle to

their right. Jack moaned and Sam buried her face further into his chest.

Jack turned to where the giggle came from and saw a little curly haired

brunette, holding Ted in one hand and sucking her thumb. "Yes my angel?"

"Need go bathroom" she said.

"Ok, let's get you sorted then," Sam said, and the little girl shook her

head. Sam rose off Jack and he instantly felt the loss. As Sam picked up

Cleo, Jack just sat there, watching the two most important women in his life

walk toward the bathroom. He couldn't help but notice the way Cleo had let

Sam in; she was usually a little shy like her mother, but when he thought

about it Alex was a great judge of character. She knew who she could trust

and who not to. He sat there musing this until the two came back from the

bathroom.

Sam grabbed three drinks out of the fridge and after setting Cleo down by

the table, she put a carton of milk in front of her. Jack watched Sam again

and all he could think was that Sam would make a great mum someday. She

turned to look at him and handed him a carton of milk, which made him

chuckle. Not to long after that the co-pilot came out.

"Sir, ma'am, you're awake, we will be landing in about and hour" he said.

"Thank you for informing us" Jack said.

"General Hammond asked me to tell you there would be a car waiting to take

both of you to the mountain" he said before returning to the cockpit.

Jack, Sam and Cleo continued talking until the plane landed. Once they had

retrieved their bags they thanked the pilots and made their way over to the

SUV waiting to take them back to the SGC.

Upon arriving at the SGC, Daniel and Teal'c were topside waiting for them.

"Hey Danny, T" Jack said climbing out of the SUV.

"Hey Jack"

"Hello O'Neill"

"Where's Sam?" Daniel asked.

"Here" she said from the other side of the car. Sam walked around the car

and Daniel's mouth dropped open when he saw the little girl in Sam's arms.

"How was the rest of the mission?" she asked, ignoring the look on Daniel's

face.

"It was well Major Carter" Teal'c said, not bothered by the child; he handed

Jack his car keys.

"Thanks T" Jack took all their bags.

Cleo, who was still in Sam's arms, looked at Teal'c, and smiled "Hello" she

said "I'm Cleo."

"Hello Cleo," he replied

"Umm Sam care to share?" Daniel asked

"Jack." was all she said as she moved over to the check point. "T, does

Hammond want to see us?"

"Indeed Major Carter"

Cleo looked at the big man again then turned to Sam "How come Mr. T talks

funny?" she asked.

"It's just how he talks sweetie" Sam replied. She put her hand on the

scanner and signed Cleo in as a guest. Leaving the three men behind, Sam

pressed the button on the elevator. By the time it arrived, Jack, Daniel and

Teal'c had caught up and they all got in.

"Do you want me to take her Sam?" Jack asked. Daniel and Teal'c shared a

look at the first name thing.

"No, she's fine Jack" Sam replied.

When they reached the second sign-in area Jack signed in Cleo again, as well

as himself and Sam. They made their way to change into their BDU's, and then

made their way to find General Hammond. He was in his office; they knocked

and waited for his 'come'. Hammond glanced up and barked "come." The three

of them walked in, with Cleo now standing behind her Uncle Jack's leg. She

peeped out when the man said for them to sit.

Daniel and T had left them after they went to change, something about food

and artifacts to look at.

When Hammond saw the little girl looking at him he smiled, "Hello, you must

be Cleo" he said; she nodded, "Well it's lovely to meet you."

"Cleo, this is General Hammond, our boss."

"Hello" she said quietly, moving over to Sam and holding her arms up to Sam

who automatically picked her up. When Jack and Sam were seated with Cleo on

Sam's lap, Hammond spoke.

"I received a call from your father Jack" Jack nodded. "Sam how are you?"

She tensed a bit; she hadn't really talked much about what had happened to

her, just little bits and pieces to Jack when they were alone. Cleo, who

felt her tense, gave Sam a hug. Sam looked down at Cleo and smiled, the

child was so much like Jack it was amazing. Just when she needed comfort

Cleo gave it.

"I'll be ok sir" she finally said looking up at him, "Good" he said.

There was a knock on the door, "Come." Colonel Ferretti came in. "Sorry Sir,

you asked for these" he said handing five folders to General Hammond who

gave him an annoyed look. "Yes, thank you Colonel" 

Ferretti then turned and saw Cleo.

"Hey titch" he said to Cleo. 

"Fwettie" she squealed and reached up to him.

Jack smiled "Lou will you take her to the mess and get her a drink?" he

asked; "I'll meet you down there in a minute"

"Sure" he said smiling, when they were just at the door he whispered "and

will get some cake too" then he was gone.

Hammond looked at Jack "How dose the Colonel know about." he trailed off.

"Alex was Kawasaki's wife, and Cleo is their only child" Jack said. 

Hammond nodded. "Sir, did you know that you knew my sister?" Jack asked.

Hammond nodded "Yes son, I remembered after you left, but how did you know?"

Jack pulled something out of his pocket "here" was all he said as he handed

the picture to Hammond.

Hammond nodded "Yes, I remember that day; she was behaving so well we

decided to let her off the base. We went to the fair; she was like a child.

She actually reminded me of you Sam, " Sam smiled. Hammond

passed the picture back to Jack. 

"You can keep it Sir."

"Don't worry I have one at home as well" Hammond said smiling. "But if

anyone on this base sees that picture you'll be spending time in a holding

cell" he said still smiling. "Now back to business, your father told me that

you gained custody of Cleo" Jack nodded "Ok, well I'll give you a few days

off to organize yourself and her." Hammond stood, as did Sam and Jack "Your

both dismissed."

Jack headed to the door while Sam stood still "Sir, may I speak to you?" she

said to General Hammond. He nodded and she turned to Jack "I'll meet you in

the mess" she said and he nodded. Hammond didn't miss the fact that both his

top officers had fallen out of their CO and 2IC roles; or the looks the two

shared.

When Jack was gone Sam turned to General Hammond "Sir, I would like to

request re-assignment; I would like to be transferred to the labs on

permanent basis" she said before he had a chance to say anything.

Hammond stood stunned for a moment before speaking, "do you have a good

reason Sam?" he asked.

"Yes sir" she said.

"Would you care to share?" he asked.

She hesitated before speaking "personal reasons, Sir." 

Then Hammond said "Ok Sam talking to me, not the General, why do you want to

do this?"

Sam hesitated again, then she plunked herself down on the seat she occupied

moments before. "I fell in love with my CO" she said "and I can't keep it in

anymore Uncle George. I can't, I tried to move on and you know what happened

with that."

Hammond nodded "I know Sammy, but are you sure you want to do this?" he

asked.

Sam looked up at him "I miscarried while I was away; the rape, plus the

shock and fear of what Pete did to me. I'm not getting younger Uncle George,

and I want a child of my own."

"And so does Jack?" Hammond asked. Sam looked at him; she knew that he just

wanted what was best for her.

"I think having Cleo around will help him with his fear of having a child. I

have seen her effect on him" she said. "Please Uncle George; I can't go back

to being his 2IC, not now after everything we have both been through."

"Does he feel the same way?" he asked.

"I don't know" she admitted.

Hammond sighed again, "Ok Sam, do me a favour, talk to him about this, see

what he says about it, and then come back to me"

Sam nodded "thank you Uncle George," she went around the table and gave him

a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Then she left his office leaving Hammond to his thoughts. He sighed heavily

and went back to his paper work, though one thought kept popping into his

brain, 'Jake is going to kill me.'

TBC.

\/p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Sam found Jack in the mess where he said he would be; Cleo was sitting on his knee, and Ferretti was sitting across from him. Sam moved over to the table. Cleo was the first to see Sam and she dropped what she had in her hands and reached up for Sam. She picked her up and sat down next to Jack, both oblivious to the looks coming from the officers in the mess hall.

"What did you want to talk to Hammond about?" Jack asked,

"I'll tell you later" she answered, Jack just nodded.

"Ok, well do you want to head home?" Jack asked, Sam nodded and began to stand.

"Later Ferretti,"

"Colonel" Sam said as she walked away from the table. Ferretti sat there for a minute before standing and moving over to another table

"Hey Walter" he said as he sat down,

"Where's that bet book of yours?" he smiled.

Jack, Sam and Cleo reached the surface, and moved out into the car park, "So, are you going to go home?" Jack asked and Sam nodded.

"Yeah I should, it's been a long trip" Jack nodded.

"Want some company?" he asked,

Sam looked relieved that he had said that "Yes thanks."

"Ok we'll meet you-" Jack stopped and looked at Cleo and then to Sam, both thinking the same thing,

"Car seat" they said at the same time and smiled.

"I'll ride with you and we can go to the mall and pick one up" Sam said walking over to Jack's truck, "Ok, good idea."

They went to the mall and got the car seat; Jack promised Cleo they would come back and get more things as soon as the house was set up for her.

When they finish at the mall, Jack drove to Sam's house. Cleo was fast asleep in her seat so Jack walked Sam to the door,

"Hey Sam, is ok with you if I come in for a minute?" Sam smiled.

"That would be nice, but what about Cleo?" she said looking at the truck.

"I just want to make sure everything is ok" he said, she looked at him. He was being completely sincere; she nodded, opened the door and walked in. She stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the end of the hall. Jack, who was standing behind her laid a hand on her shoulder and said, "go get what you will need for a few days" into her ear.

She just nodded and moved down the hall. Jack looked at the mess in her living room; every thing was thrown all over the place and some things where smash to bits. When Jack heard a loud thump and he moved quickly down to where Sam's bedroom was.

She was sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball crying. Jack moved over to her and pulled her into his arms; she tensed at first but then relaxed. Jack looked up to she what had caused Sam to break down like this.

Like her living room every thing was in a mess, but what caught Jack's eye was the writing on the wall;

'YOU WORTHLESS WHORE' was written all over the wall above her bed.

Jack stood up with Sam up and carried her out to the truck; she was now sobbing quietly to herself. After making sure she was ok in the car he went back inside to lock the house up. When he came back to the truck he saw Sam had cried herself to sleep. 

He got into the truck and drove to his house. He first took Cleo out of her car seat and carried her to the spare bedroom and then he went back out to get Sam. He carefully lifted her out of the truck and walked into the house. He took her down the hallway to his bedroom and put her on his bed, then pulled a blanket over her. He sat watching her for a while before standing up and leaving the room, closing the door partly. Jack then made his way to the kitchen.

He picked up the portable phone and dialed the SGC,

"This is Colonel O'Neill, I need to speak with General Hammond. Its very important lieutenant. Thank you"

After a moment Hammond's voice came on "Jack, what's so important?"

"You need to send a team to Sam's house to clean it up" Jack said.

"What, why, what's wrong, is she ok?" Hammond asked worried.

"She's ok, sort of"

"Jack?" Hammond asked concerned.

"Sir, it wasn't a pretty site; the house was trashed and when she went to her bedroom to pack up a few things she found it trashed and he had written some pretty mean stuff on her wall"

"Ok son I'll send a team over there, where is she now?"

"She here at my house; she's asleep at the moment."

"Alright, I want her to stay with you for few days"

"Yes sir," Jack said.

"Sir, if I may ask, where is Shanahan?"

"He is in a holding cell in Washington DC waiting to being charged with rape and abuse of a USAF officer."

"Ok, thank you for telling me sir."

Jack let out a sigh of relief that Pete was in a cell in Washington and not in Colorado Springs.

"No problem son, you just make sure she is ok"

"Will do, sir" then they both hung up.

Jack turned to see a sleepy little face looking up at him in the doorway. He smiled "hello sleepy head" Jack said as picked her up and gave her a kiss on the check.

"Where Sam?" she asked,

"She's asleep," he said, then he sat down at the table with her on his lap.

"Cleo I need you to do me a big favor, ok?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I need you to be really quiet and be careful around Sam, ok" she nodded again.

"Good girl, now do you want to watch some cartoons?"

"Yes" she said smiling.

Jack carried her into the living room and put her on the couch, then picked up the remote that was sitting on the coffee table. He turned on the TV and flicked through some channels until he found the cartoon channel. Then he put the remote back on the coffee table before leaving the room to check on Sam.

She was awake when he entered his bedroom, "Hey" he said.

"Hi" she whispered as he sat down on the bed next to her. He unconsciously pushed a stray hair behind her ear and then put the palm of his hand against her check. She leaned into his touch while looking into his brown eyes.

"You ok?" he asked, she nodded.

"Good, I'm going to run out to the store and get some groceries. Will you be ok with Cleo?" she nodded again.

"Ok good, do you want to get up?"

"Yeah"

"I'll wait until you freshen up before I leave, ok?"

"Ok thanks."

Jack got up and walked out of the room; Sam got up and walked into the bathroom. Once she finish she made her way to the living room just in time to see Cleo laugh at something funny on the TV. She noticed Jack standing on the steps looking at his goddaughter; he was smiling at her. Sam stood next to Jack looking at him, seeing him smile for the first time in days. She could see how relax he was, then he turned his head and to look at Sam.

"I'll be back soon as I can, make yourself at home."

"Thanks"

She walked down the steps and carefully sat down next to Cleo who snuggled into Sam's side. Sam put her arm around Cleo's shoulder and looked up at jack whose smile had gotten even bigger. This made her smile also, then she turned to see what Cleo was laughing at. Jack watched them both for a minute before he left to go to the grocery store with the smile still on his face.

TBC.


	11. Chapter 11

-1When Jack returned from shopping, Sam and Cleo were in the same place as when he left. He walked into the kitchen and began to unpack the bags; he was nearly finished when Sam walked in.

"Can I help with anything?" Jack looked up,

"No, I'm just about finished" she nodded and moved over to him.

"You ok?" he asked

She gave him a weak smile and a small nod. He didn't fully believe her but decided not to push her.

"What's for lunch?" She asked

"I was going to make some sandwiches, what do you think?"

"Sounds good to me, I'm going to go back and watch the TV with Cleo" he smiled and nodded.

"Ok, I'll be in soon with the sandwiches and something to drink."

"You sure you don't need any help?"

"Yes, now you go watch cartoons"

He put his hand on her arms and made her turn around. Then he gave her a light push to get her moving out of the kitchen; she got the message.

Jack soon appeared in the living room with a tray in his hands. He set the tray down and picked up a couple of plates and passed them to Sam and Cleo. They talked while eating and when they finished they all had a glass of strawberry milk. Once they were done Jack picked up the tray and took it back into the kitchen; Sam followed,

"Need a hand?" she asked

Jack looked around "umm, yeah can you dry?" he asked. She nodded and he got out a clean tea towel for her to use.

"So any ideas on how are you going to decorate Cleo's room?" she asked.

"Yep, I bought a couple of cans of light blue paint before getting the groceries. She will need a new bed, a dresser, and… hum!"

"What?" she asked

"We need to go to the mall again" he said, then looked at his watch.

"Want to go shopping now?" Sam smiled, "You just want to buy some toys" she said, then laughed at his puppy dog look.

"Ok, I don't mind" she said smiling, which made him smile back.

"Yeah" he said as he handed her the last dish,

"We need to pick up more clothes for her as well." He mused.

When they finished with the dishes, Jack walked down the hall to the spare room. Sam followed him and he walked into the room he had put Cleo in earlier.

"I think I'll make this her room" he said to Sam, as she walked in after him. It was a large enough room, roughly 25x15 feet. It had a double bed in it at the moment but he could take that out. There was a window and a small dresser.

"Ok, first things first" he said rubbing his hands together.

They moved back into the kitchen and Jack picked up the cordless phone and called the SGC. After a moment Sam heard "hey 'T'…yeah I'm good, I was wondering if you could give me a hand today…yep…cool, thanks buddy" then he hung up.

"He'll be here in twenty," he said to Sam

"Ok, why?" she asked

"To help clear out the room so we can see how the little angel wants her room done" he said and moved into the living room once again.

"Cleo honey," she looked up at him

"We're going to go to the store and pick out a new bed and dresser; what sort of duvet cover would you like on you bed?"

She thought for a moment "Winnie the Pooh" she said, Sam smiled at her

"That's a very good choice Cleo; I love Winnie the Pooh too. Who is your favorite?" Sam asked

"Eeyore" she said smiling

"Mine is Tigger" Sam said.

"I figured you'd like owl or rabbit" Jack said, Sam looked at him.

"What? I just never figured you as the Tigger type."

They continued talking about it until there was a knock on the door; Jack went to answer it, it was Teal'c and Daniel.

"Hey guy's glad you could help" Jack said as they came in.

"No problem Jack, so are you going to tell me who this mystery child is?" Daniel asked,

"She's my goddaughter" he said walking down the hall to the living room; Daniel stopped dead in his tracks as Teal'c continued.

"Your what?"

"Goddaughter and I am now her legal guardian."

"Is that why you went to Ireland?" Jack nodded, "Her mum was killed in action overseas."

"And her father?" Daniel asked moving in to the living room.

"Was Charlie Kawalski" Jack said standing in the living room looking at Teal'c. Jack glanced at Cleo who was looking at Daniel and Teal'c; he moved over to her pick her up, settling her on his hip.

"Cleo, these are two of my friends, this is Daniel"

"Hello"

"Hello Cleo it's nice to meet you" Daniel said, they both shook hands and smiled at each other.

"And this is Teal'c"

"Hello Teal'c"

"Hello Cleo O'Neill Kawalski" she giggled and Teal'c raised an eyebrow as they shook hands. 

"Do you think if we start painting the first coat on the walls and ceiling now it will be done by this evening?" Jack asked.

"Indeed O'Neill" Teal'c said, "What colour do you wish the room to be painted?"

Jack looked around the room and then out in the hallway until he found what he was looking for; "This colour" he said, showing them the colour chip and pointing to the right colour.

"Daniel, the paint, brushes, drop cloths and everything else is in the back of my truck. Teal'c and I will start clearing out the room, then you guys can get started, ok" Jack said. Teal'c bowed his head.

"Jack what colour do you want the trim and windowsills?" Daniel asked. Jack looked up; the trim was going to be a pale cream/white colour.

"I got the paint for that and for the ceiling. It's in the truck with the other stuff" Jack replied.

"Ok" then Daniel left to start bringing in the paint from Jack's truck.

Then they began to work; Jack and Teal'c went to start in the bedroom when Sam showed up.

"Can I help with any thing?"

"Na, we got it; after all you're supposed to take it easy for the next few days, and if doc finds out that I made you to help, she'll bring out her really big needles."

They all heard giggling and Sam turned from the door way to see Cleo standing there, looking up at Sam with a smile on her face. Then Sam moved out of the way so Cleo could see what was going on. Jack smile when he saw Cleo.

"Cleo sweetie, can you look after Sam until we're finished here?"

"Ok, come on Sam" she grabbed hold of her hand and tugged her down to the living room to watch some more TV.

Ten minutes later everything was moved out of the bedroom and all the supplies were set up for the painting to begin.

"See you guys when we return" Jack said.

"Ok, hey Jack, how is Sam?" Daniel said quietly in the bedroom.

"It's going to take a while for her to recover after what he did to her"

"I bet it will, but at least we're all here for her."

"Yeah, see you guys later"

"Ok Jack" Jack walked out and back down the hall to the living room.

"Ready for some more shopping?" Cleo's eyes lit up when she looked at her uncle; "Can Sam come too?"

"Of course she can… come on we've got places to go and money to spend." Cleo and Sam stood up and walked over to the coat rack and put their coats on; Jack put his on as well.

"Shall we?" he opened the door for them both.

Once outside he closed the door and they walked down the steps to his truck. When they were all buckled in, they headed to the mall. Their first stop was the furniture store; Cleo picked out a lovely single bed, which had guardrails at the side and a headboard and footboard. There was also a dresser that was a dark blue that matched the color of the headboard. They notice a student desk matching the dresser, so Jack decided to buy it for her for when she got a bit older and started school. They also got her a smaller table and chairs for her in the mean time.

Their next stop was the linen area where Cleo picked a lovely set of baby blue Eeyore bed sheets. They had a big picture of him on the pillow case and the duvet set and a spare set of sheets that had Pooh and Eeyore on them that were blue also. They even got a duvetliner as well. 

They picked up Winnie the Pooh pillows, a ceiling light shade and pictures of some of the other characters as well, plus a few more knick knacks for Cleo's room. When they had finished and were checking out, the sales assistant said that the furniture would be delivered tomorrow afternoon. It was the first available time slot since the truck was already busy doing today's deliveries and wouldn't be back for the rest of the day.

Next they headed to the department store to pick Cleo up some more clothes. They got her plenty of clothes, pyjamas and undergarments to last for quite awhile. After all the shopping was done Jack decided to treat both Cleo and Sam to some ice cream. They found an ice cream shop nearby and decided to sit down and relax while they enjoying eating it.

"Man, am I tired," Jack said, as he watched Cleo eat her ice cream happily.

"Yeah, me too: we've been at this for five hours now" Sam said. Jack looked at his watch, "What time did we leave?"

"11:30, why?" Sam replied 

"We only have one more stop" he said. 

"Maybe we should leave that until the room is finish." Jack nodded at Sam; "yeah we should probably go see how the boys are doing" Jack replied.

Soon after they finished their ice cream they headed back to the house. When they got there they were shocked to see the first coat already finished.

"Wow, you guys did a good job" Jack said when he saw it. They put the shopping bags in the living room for the time being and Cleo sat down to watch some TV until dinnertime. Sam sorted out Cleo's new clothes and put them in the washing machine. Jack found her in the laundry room and asked

"What are you doing?"

"Washing Cleo's new clothes; my mother always said when you buy new clothes, you need to wash them because you don't know who's tried them on before you bought them."

"Yeah, that's what my mum tells me, plus that awful 'new clothes' smell… wise mothers we have."

"Yeah" Sam said sadly; Jack pulled her into a hug hating himself for the slip. He had forgotten that she lost her mother when she was young, and now Cleo had lost both her parents.

"I'm going to call for some pizza, is there anything special you like on yours?"

"I'll have whatever you have"

"Ok, will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I will be" they looked into each other's eyes before he let her go and headed to the kitchen to call the pizza place. Twenty minutes later the pizza arrived and they all sat down in the living room eating, drinking and talking. Daniel and Teal'c left about an hour later when Cleo fell asleep leaning against Sam. Jack walked them to the door.

"Jack, Janet will be here at seven in the morning with some of Sam clothes from her house."

"Ok thanks guys see you in the morning; I promise barbecue tomorrow night"

"Ok see you in the morning."

"Night guys" then they left to head back to the SGC. He closed the door and locked it before walking back to the living room. When he walked down the steps, he smiled when he saw Sam asleep as well. He carefully laid Cleo down on the sofa and put a blanket over her. Then he turned the TV and lights off, leaving one small lamp on just in case Cleo woke up and didn't know where she was.

He then carefully scooped Sam up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom and laid her on the bed. He took her shoes off and put a cover over her, then went into the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his hands before heading back to the bedroom. He closed the door, but not all the way, before going to bed himself since he was still tired from the long trip home from Ireland and what had happen since they had been back. He striped down to his boxers and tee shirt then crawled into bed, careful not to wake Sam. He laid on his side and looked at Sam before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

Early the next morning Jack woke up feeling a warm body lying against him. He opened his eyes to find Sam snuggling up to his side. There was something else he thought and lifted his head to see Cleo stand at the foot of the bed smiling. He looked at the clock; it was just after five in the morning and the sun was just starting to rise.

"Morning Cleo"

"Morning unkie J"

"Come here sweetie" Jack lifted the covers as she walked around and climbed into bed next to him. He pulled the covers over her and she snuggled up to his side since he was on his back in the middle of the bed.

"Go back to sleep Cleo"

"Ok" she closed her eyes and Jack watched her before he closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. Janet and Cassie showed up just after seven; they knocked on the door but there was no answer. They tried again, but still nothing, so Cassie used the key that Jack had give her few years ago. They walked in and looked around for Jack and Sam; they found them both in Jack's room with a little girl snuggling up on one side of Jack and Sam the other. They both smile at the sight before them. Cassie got her phone out and took a picture of them before they left the room. They dropped Sam's bags in the hallway before leaving them alone. Cassie locked the door on the way out.

An hour and half later Sam woke up and opened her eyes to see two pairs of brown eyes looking at her smiling. 

"Morning Sam"

"Morning Jack"

"Morning Sam" she turned and looked at Cleo and smiled.

"Morning Cleo"

"Sleep well?"

"Yes I did thanks"

"Good, so pancakes for breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me"

"Cleo?"

"Yes please"

"Good, why don't I get up and have a shower and get breakfast started and you two can stay in bed if you want to."

"I need…" she started, then stopped

"Clean clothes, don't worry Doc was at your place earlier and packed a bag for you; you can have a shower in the other bathroom."

"Thanks" she said, and then looked at Cleo

"Do you like baths or showers?"

"It doesn't matter to me"

"Ok, how about I get you bathed and dressed first, then I'll have a shower?"

"Ok"

"I'll get some towels for you two"

"Thanks" they all got up together.

After they all relieved themselves, Jack got them towels and washcloths before he went to have his shower. Sam bathed Cleo first and then helped her get dressed in jeans, tee shirt, socks and slippers. Once Sam finished with Cleo she went and got her bag and took it into Jack's bedroom. She opened it up and was going through it to get some of her clothes out when Jack showed up with her other bag.

"Here, you might want your toiletry bag"

"Thanks" then he left her alone to check on the pancakes.

Sam took her shower and cleaned up the water mess before getting dressed. She walked to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee when Jack passed her a mug of it.

"Thanks"

"Come on before your breakfast gets cold" Sam notice Cleo eating her pancakes happily. They both sat down on each side of Cleo eating their breakfast and talking about what they going to do for the day. After breakfast was finished and everything was cleaned up, Daniel and Teal'c arrived. Ten minutes later after chatting with the guys, Jack had an idea.

"Cleo would you like to go to the park?" her eyes lit up and so did her smile.

"Yes please" Jack look at Sam,

"Sam could you take Cleo the park, I'm going to give these guys a hand with the painting"

"Sure, ok"

"Thanks" Sam and Cleo put their shoes and jackets on before leaving for the park.

As soon as they were gone he went to see how the room was coming along and to find out more about what was going to happen to Pete.

A couple of hours later Sam and Cleo walked in the door.

"Jack, Daniel, Teal'c we're back"

"In the kitchen Sam" Daniel called out. After taking their shoes and jackets off they walked into the kitchen to see Jack making a big pile of sandwiches.

"Hey, have fun at the park?" Jack asked smiling at them both.

"Yep, we had heaps of fun"

"Good, hungry?"

"Yes and thirsty"

"I'll take care of the drinks" Sam said.

She walked over to the cabinet and opened it to get to the glasses out, then walked over to the fridge to get the chocolate milk. After she poured the drinks, she put the bottle back in the fridge and passed one to Cleo who was sitting next to Daniel at the breakfast bar.

"Thank you" she said when Sam passed it to her "you're welcome." Cleo drank all of her milk and by that tine the sandwiches were made and they all helped themselves.

Four hours later there was a knock on the door; Jack got up to answer it. It was the delivery guys from the furniture store. Jack was surprised to find it already assembled, but was happy because it meant less work for them. They set it all up in Cleo's room and grabbed the stuff they bought and washed the day before; luckily the paint was already dry.

When the room was finally finished it looked beautiful. They were all happy with the work they had done, especially Cleo. It was a lovely shade of light blue with a Winnie the Pooh border; they had made the bed in the Eeyore bed linens and all of Cleo's new clothes were in the dresser or closet. There was a bean bag chair in the corner and shelves soon be full of Cleo's things. The room looked perfect.

"Thank you guys" Jack said, Cleo gave Daniel and Teal'c a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and thanked them for her new bedroom.

"Now, I think I owe you guys that barbecue dinner," Jack said walking into the kitchen to begin preparing for a cookout.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

Jack had suggested that Daniel call Janet and asked if she and Cassie wonted to come and join the BBQ, so half an hour both women arrived, Sam when to get the door with Cleo in her arms "Hay guys" Sam said

Jack asked Daniel to call Janet and see if she and Cassie wanted to come and join the BBQ. Half an hour later both women arrived; Sam went to answer the door with Cleo in her arms.

"Hi guys come on in," Sam said stepping back to let them into the house.

"Hey Sam, and this must be Cleo" Janet said looking at Cleo. Cleo turned her head and tucked it against Sam's shoulder and neck, Janet smiled.

"Hey Sam" Cass said as she walked in after her mother,

"Hello Cleo, I'm Cassie, and that's my mum Janet."

"Hi" she said to both.

"Ladies the steaks are done, come out here and get them while they are hot" Jack called out from the sliding glass door. They all walked outside and sat down. Cleo sat between Jack and Sam during dinner;  
they all enjoyed their dinner and talked for most of the evening until it got late.

"Colonel, thanks for inviting us to dinner; it was great getting to meet Cleo. We better get going, Cassie's has school tomorrow" they all stood up.

"We'd better get going ourselves Jack, we have an early briefing in the morning" Daniel said.

"Ok guys, thanks again for the help."

"No problem, it was fun" they all walked to the door. Sam had Cleo in her arms.

"Bye Cleo, it was nice to meet you" Daniel said smiling at the little girl.

"Bye" she said to them in a sweet voice that made them smile.

They walked down the steps to their cars and saw Cleo wave to them, so they waved back before getting in to their cars. Sam noticed Cleo was tiring.

"Come on sweetie let's get you changed into your pajamas" Sam said. They walked down the hallway to Cleo bedroom while Jack closed up the house and locked the doors.

Jack was cleaning up the kitchen when a small figure appeared in the doorway. Jack moved over and picked her up,

"You sleepy angel?" Jack asked, she nodded laying her head on his shoulder. "Ok, it's bed time anyway."

Jack walked to her bedroom and when Sam came out of the bathroom she followed Jack into Cleo's room just as Jack was putting her in bed.

"Good night Cleo," Sam said as she gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"G'night" She mumbled as she closed her eyes holding her bear in arms.

"'Night my little angel" Jack said before he gave her a kiss. They both left the room and went down the hall to the kitchen.

"You want something to drink Sam?"

"Yeah, water thanks" she said,

Jack took out two bottles of water and handed her one.

"Thanks"

"Come with me" he said; he opened the patio door and walked over to the ladder with Sam right behind him.

"What about Cleo, if she-" Jack held up the baby monitor and smiled.

"I switched on the one in her bedroom" he said.

Jack climbed up the ladder to the roof first, and then Sam followed. When she reached the top, they both sat down and looked up at the stars. A few minutes later Sam decided to finally tell Jack about her transfer request to General Hammond.

"I asked to be reassigned to the labs on a full time basis" she said looking at him.

Jack's head jerked around to look at her "You what?"

"I asked to be reassigned to the labs" she repeated herself.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to continue living the way we were before we went to Ireland," she said.

"I can't go back to that, and I don't want to" she looked at him; he was looking down at his hands,

"Why don't I retire" he finally said.

"Because with my reassignment I can still work on the base; but if you retire you can't, and the SGC needs us both. There are more reasons if you want to hear them" she said.

"What did Hammond say?" Jack asked looking at her.

"To talk to you," she replied.

Jack looked puzzled "You're not telling me everything are you?" he asked; when she didn't answer he knew he was right, "Sam please."

"I asked to be reassigned because I fell in love with my CO and I can't go back to the way things were" she said in one breath then she looked away.

Jack put a finger under her chin and tilted her head to make her look at him,

"I love you too" he said.

He moved his head forward, leaning into her and their lips met; it was a slow gentle kiss. When they pulled apart he leaned his forehead against hers,

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"Yes" Jack nodded and kissed her again.

"If you're sure" he said. They sat there just enjoying each others company for a while before Sam shivered. Jack stood up and said,

"Come on its getting cold and its late" Sam stood up and he helped her down the ladder. Once on the ground they walked back into the house and locked it up then walked down to Jack's bedroom. When they walked into the room, Sam stopped and hesitated a bit. Jack turned and looked at her then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her,

"Not until your ready ok" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and walked in to the bathroom while Jack went to check on Cleo. She was still sound asleep in her bed; he closed the door, leaving a small crack then moved back to his room. Sam was now in bed and he went into the bathroom himself to do his nightly things before returning back to the bedroom. He then striped down to his boxers and a t-shirt, climbed into bed and carefully spooned up behind Sam.

"Good night Sam" he whispered, kissing her neck

"'Night Jack," they closed their eyes and fell asleep within minutes.

Sam woke up first the next morning; she looked at the clock and saw it was just after eight. She gently detached herself from Jack and carefully got up and walked into the bathroom. A few minutes later she came back out; Jack was still asleep but now lying in a different position.

Sam walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to Cleo's room. She pushed the door open and saw the little girl lying on her side with her little arm wrapped around her teddy. Sam couldn't help but feel a rush of pain; how she wished to have a baby of her own one day. Cleo must have heard the door open because she opened her eyes. Looking around she saw Sam standing in the door way and she sat up smiling.

"Well hello sweetie" Sam said moving into the bedroom, she picked up Cleo and gave her a hug.

"Did you sleep well?" Sam asked, Cleo nodded sleepily and said

"need to pee."

Sam smiled and took her to the bathroom; when they finished washing their hands they went to the kitchen.

"What would you like for breakfast sweetie?" Sam asked

"Bacon" Sam smiled

"Ok, do you want to watch some cartoons?" Cleo nodded.

Sam picked her up and took her into the living room sitting her on the couch, then pick up a throw blanket and put it over Cleo's legs. She then picked up the remote and switched the TV to the cartoon channel. Once Cleo was settled, Sam moved back to the kitchen and turned on the coffee and began to cook breakfast.

Jack woke up a few minutes later, smelling coffee and something cooking. He got up and went to relieve himself and wash his hands and face before getting dressed and walking out to the kitchen.

"Morning Sam"

"Morning Jack" he then heard the TV going so he knew that was where Cleo was. He turned to see Sam handing him a mug of coffee.

"Thanks, need any help?" he asked as he took a sip

"Yeah, can you set the table, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes" she said.

Jack nodded and began to set the table, When he was done he went to get Cleo.

"Morning Cleo" he said smiling at her. She looked up and smiled back

"Morning unkie J"

"Come on, breakfast is ready."

"Ok" Jack picked up the remote and turned the TV off and followed Cleo, who had taken the blanket off her legs to stand up and walk into the kitchen. Jack help her up on the chair at the breakfast bar; Sam finish dishing up bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast, then she got the three of them orange juice before sitting down to enjoy breakfast.

When they were finished, Jack cleaned up while Sam went to get Cleo dress. They decided on blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a sky blue sweat top, white socks and blue slippers. Once she was dressed and her hair was combed, they walked back out to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go and have a quick shower?" Jack said

"Ok."

Sam took Cleo into the living room and turned on the TV for her while Jack went to shower and shave. Sam was just walking back into the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. She looked through the peep hole before unlocking the door and opening it up.

"Hey Carter, love the get up" Colonel Dixon said, looking at her clothes. Sam looked down at herself; she was wearing baggy sweatpants and one of Jack's old t-shirts. When she realised what she was wearing she blushed and Sib, who was standing behind Dixon, whacked him across the head.

"Leave her alone" she said to him,

"Ignore him Sam, he's just tired from the flight, but I had to drop something off for Jack, mum insisted on it."

"Ok, come on in" Sam said letting them in.

"Jack is in the shower, but he should be done soon" she said as she fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go and get changed" she said then started walking down the hall,

"Cleo's in the living room" she called out, and then disappeared into Jack's bedroom.

Before moving to see Cleo, Sib hit Dixon again because she saw him smirk,

"What?" he said.

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

Sam was sitting on the bed when Jack walked out of the bathroom,

Sam was sitting on the bed when Jack walked out of the bathroom,

"Hey, you ok?" he asked walking over to her.

Sam looked up; she was caught off guard when she heard him. All he was wearing was a towel and that surprised Sam.

"Umm…yeah, ah your sister is, um in the living room" she said quietly. Jack smiled,

"Sib?" he asked.

She just nodded, trying to not look at him; he moved over to the bed in front of her, and knelt down looking at her.

"You ok," she looked into his eyes and nodded.

"Why don't you go and have a shower and freshen up and I'll go talk to Sib" Jack said.

They both stood up and then Sam walked to the bathroom but before she got to the door Jack gently grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him, he kissed her gently on the lips and whispered,

"I love you" she smiled at him.

"I know, I love you too" then she turned and walked into the bathroom to have her shower while Jack got dressed.

When he was dressed he walked down to the living room and stopped when he saw Dixon sitting on the sofa.

"My Sib, how you've grown, and got hairier" Dixon looked at Jack who was grinning,

"Knock it off Jack" Dixon said as he stood up.

"Cleo wanted to show Sib her new room."

"Ah and you weren't invited to see it" Jack said in a patronizing voice. Dixon just made a face at Jack, until he saw his wife come up behind Jack. She was trying to sneak up on him.

"Don't bother Sib, I heard you as soon as you came out of Cleo's room" he said, still grinning.

"Spoil sport" she said walking past him.

"Come outside with me, I need to talk to you" she said taking Jack's hand and dragging him toward the sliding glass door.

"I love how she tells me what to do and still takes you with her where ever she goes" Jack said to Dixon, who just smiled.

When they got outside and the door was closed, Sib stopped and turned around. Facing Jack, she took something out of her purse.

"Mum wanted to give this to you before you left, but she never got the chance," she said handing him a small jewelry box.

He took it and opened it; inside was an 18k white gold band with an array of milgrain-edged flowers and leaves. Each petal and leaf was accented with full cut diamonds. The round cut aquamarine solitaire weighed a little over half a carat.

Jack looked up at Sib "this was Nana's wedding ring" he stated.

"Yep, you of all people know that she left it to you in her will; remember, because Krissy made such a fuss" Sib smiled at the memory.

Jack nodded "Yeah, Sara never wanted it, she wanted a new one" Jack said remembering why his mother still had it. Sib stiffened a yawn,

"You should go home and get some sleep, and take the little toot with you to bed" Jack said.

Walking back inside, he slipped the box into his pocket when he saw Sam with Cleo in her arms.

Sib moved over to Sam and Cleo.

"Goodbye honey" she said to Cleo.

"Bye Sam, oh and if Dave says anything mean to you like he did earlier again, tell me. I'll make sure he pays" Sib said smiling at Sam as she gave her a wink, Sam smiled back.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks" she said.

Sib turned and looked at Dixon, who moaned and mumbled something that sounded like 'there goes my fun' just before Jack whacked him across the head.

"What did you say to her!?" Jack asked, Dixon moved closer to his wife.

"Come on honey you must be tired" he said, as he began to move her closer to the door in an attempt to get away from Jack's wrath before he ended up dead. When they were both in the car Jack waved goodbye as they drove away.

When he went back into the house Sam and Cleo were in the kitchen, Cleo was sitting on the counter and Sam was standing in front of her. Jack walked up behind Sam and wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Who wants to go shopping again?" Jack asked.

"Me" Cleo said grinning.

"What for?" Sam asked.

"Well, we need food, and we also need to get _someone_ some toys" he said looking at Cleo. Sam nodded her agreement.

"I'll go get dressed if you want to get Cleo's shoes and jacket on her."

"Ok," he said before turning Sam in his arms and kissing her on the lips.

"I also need to stop by the base," she said, walking out of the kitchen.

"Ok, but only for a few minutes" he called after her, and then he turned to Cleo.

"So my little angel, shall we get you ready?" he asked, picking her up.

"Yes, and you to"

"Yeah, I should probably put on some shoes myself" he said.

They walked down to her room and she picked the pair of shoes she wanted to wear. She put them on and Jack showed her how to tie the laces in a bow. Once done they went into his bedroom where Sam was getting dressed.

"Whoa, sorry" Jack said as he saw her putting her t- shirt on. She turned around to see Jack and Cleo standing there.

"Jack! ah, I'm almost ready."

"Ok, I just came to get my shoes" Sam nodded.

He went and got his shoes and sat on the bed to put them on; by that time Sam was dressed and she put her shoes on as well.

"Ok campers, ready to go spend some money?" Jack asked, rubbing his hands together and grinning.

"YAAAAH" Cleo said as she jumped up and down on the bed.

"Ok sweetie come on, now I know just what we need to get you."

"What's that's unkie J?"

"A trampoline" he said and her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

She jumped off the bed and grabbed both Jack and Sam's hand and pulled them out of the room.

"Jack, you're spoiling her" Sam whispered to him.

"Well, it was either that have her ruin the bed."

"Good point."

Cleo let go of their hands so they could put their jackets on since it was cold outside. Sam handed Cleo her jacket and she was able to put it on by herself. Jack zipped it up for her and she gave him a thank you kiss. Then the three of them walked out of the house together. Jack locked up before they walked down the steps to his garage; he used the small remote on his key ring to open the garage door. When it was up, Cleo walked with Jack to his side of his truck, since her car seat was on that side.

He unlocked the doors and opened the back door; then he lifted Cleo up and put her in her car seat. He buckled the seat belt around the car seat then tickled her stomach which made her giggle and made him smile. Closing the door he moved to the driver's door and got in and put on his seat belt before starting up his truck.

"How about we head to the base before we go shopping?" Jack asked Sam who was already in the passenger seat waiting.

"Sure, I'll only be a few minutes anyway," she said.

Jack started his truck and they made their way to the base. Twenty minutes later they arrived at the SGC. They made their way down the many levels and when they reached the last check point Ferretti was waiting for them.

"Hey guys" he said grinning, and then looked to Cleo who was holding both Jack and Sam's hands.

"Hey pip, want to come with me while your uncle and Sam go talk to the general?" he asked.

She looked up at Jack then Sam, both smiled and nodded.

"Ok" she said letting go of their hands and taking a few steps forward to take Ferretti's hand.

He smiled and nodded to Sam and Jack before heading off, saying he'd be in the rec room when they were ready to leave.

Jack and Sam walked to the general's office; when they got there Sam knocked and they waited for the 'come'. When it came they went in and they both stood at attention.

"Colonel, Major," he said waving for them to sit.

"What can I do for you?" he asked after they both sat down.

Sam looked at General Hammond "I would like to request the transfer to the labs that we talked about, Sir" she said. Hammond looked her in the eye,

"Are you sure Major?"

Sam nodded "Yes sir, more than anything."

Hammond nodded, he'd known the second she had asked him the first time that this would happen; truth be told, he'd been expecting it since the za'tarc incident.

"Ok, I'll file the transfer papers," he said and stood up.

"The Joint Chief's and President want to keep you on as an Air Force officer, so you will keep your rank Sam" he said smiling as he walked around the desk.

"You already spoke to the Joint Chief's?" Sam asked.

"No, not yet, but they thought this would happen sooner or later" Sam and Jack just sat there in shock.

"Now Jack, I'm going to pull the father thing on you since Jake isn't here," Jack paled slightly.

"So help you God if you hurt her…" Jack nodded his head fast and repeatedly, while Sam giggled.

"And Sam" he said pulling her up from her seat and hugging her.

"I'm glad you're happy" he whispered into her ear.

"I am" she whispered back, and then Jack stood up.

"Now, I assume the two of you have a small little niece running around here somewhere" he looked at Jack smiling.

"Yeah, Ferretti has her in the rec room" Jack said.

"Crap, that reminds me, that probably wasn't the best idea" Jack said making his way out of the room quickly. Hammond and Sam shared a confused look before following him.

Jack moved as quickly as he could to the rec room. Cleo was talking about something he couldn't quite hear from the door so he moved in slightly and saw SG-2, 4, 5, and 8, sitting there listening to the little girl.

"So Cleo, what do you think of Sam?" one of the SG-5 marines asked.

"Sam is very nice, I like her," she replied and they all chucked at the big smile she gave.

"What do you think your uncle Jack thinks of her?" SG-4's CO asked.

Cleo thought about it for a minute, then pulled something out of the pocket of her blue sweatshirt and handed it to Ferretti. Jack instantly knew what it was when he saw the box, but he quickly checked his pockets "Crap" he whispered.

"Cleo Charlotte O'Neill Kawalski" he called from the door; she jumped and the SG teams turned to see Jack standing in the door way. She looked up at him innocently and he moved over to Ferretti to take the box back.

He swiped it out of Ferretti's hand and glared at him, then mumbled something in another language; the man paled slightly. Jack then he turned to Cleo.

"Where did you get this?" he asked. She didn't answer, but pointed to Jack's pants pocket.

"Jack, it wasn't her fault" SG-8's CO said.

"I damn well know it wasn't; you had no right to ask her those questions, she's only five" he said to the men in the room.

He then picked up Cleo and walked out the room. Hammond and Sam were standing at the door. Sam looked worried, but he just shook his head and continued out the door.

"Sir" he said to Hammond.

Sam and Jack left to go to the surface leaving Hammond to deal with the other officers, and oh, did he ever.

When they were in the elevator Cleo looked at Sam,

"I sorry" she said quietly. Sam ran a hand through her hair. "Its ok honey" she said before looking up at Jack who shifted Cleo so he could see her face.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you honey, I wasn't angry with you," he put his hand on her little face and stroke it.

"I'm sorry I took little box, I won't do again" she cried.

"I know you won't honey, and it's good that you know not to do it again without asking first" he said, then kissed her on the top of her head and stoked her back to calm her down.

"I love you, you know that right?" he asked, she nodded and sniffled before laying her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I upset you angel" he whispered.

Sam could see the pain in his eyes at seeing Cleo sad because he got angry with the others did in the room. She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze letting him know that it was ok and she was there for him.

TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

When they reached the surface, Jack and Sam walked hand in hand to Jack's truck. Sam opened the door and Jack put Cleo in her car seat.

"We get toy now?" she asked sweetly, looking at Jack who smiled at her.

"Yep, anything you want" he said and Sam cleared her throat.

"Within reason" he added, giving her a wink which made her giggle.

"Now let's move out campers" he said, closing the door then opening the front door and hopping in.

Sam walked around to the other side and opened the door and climbed in and put her seat belt on. Jack started the truck and started driving down the mountain.

Twenty-five minutes later they pulled into the superstore parking lot and got out. Jack unbuckled Cleo and helped her to the ground then he and Sam took one of her hands.

"Should we have gotten her a cart?" Sam asked.

Jack looked at Cleo, and then back to Sam "nah, I'll carry her if she gets tired" he said.

They spent the next hour and a half walking around looking at different toys; letting Cleo chose which ones she wanted. Jack had gotten a cart and was putting the toys in the basket. Sam looked and smiled at the two O'Neill's and couldn't help but think one was as bad as the other; Jack was as exited about seeing all the different toys as Cleo. They ended up buying loads of things, even though Sam keep reminding Jack that Lea had shipped several boxes of Cleo's things and they should be receiving them soon.

"I know, I know" was all he said before getting distracted by Cleo. Sam just shook her head; he had done pretty much the same thing when Cass had come to earth.

They spent two hours in the store before deciding to head to the check-out counter. They had bought Cleo so many toys and other things Sam couldn't even believe it. Once they were done there they made a quick stop at the grocery store before heading back to the house. Sam and Jack emptied the bags while Cleo played with a few of her new toys. When they were done Jack turned to Sam,

"Why don't you go see what Cleo's up to while I make us a small snack" Jack said,

"You sure?" she asked, he nodded and she smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss,

"Thank you."

Sam left the kitchen and went down to Cleo's room; the little girl was sitting on the floor playing with the beautiful doll house Jack had bought her. Sam smiled at the sight. Cleo looked up when she heard the door open.

"Come play Sam" she said. Sam complied and moved over to the little girl and sat down next to her. They played and talked for a while before Jack came into the room. He stood in the door way looking at Sam and Cleo playing and talking and his heart warmed at the sight.

"Hey" they both turned around to look at Jack and smiled.

"I've made some sandwiches for a snack, so who's hungry?"

"Me" Cleo said, and then she got up from the floor.

"Sam are you hungry?" she asked looking at Sam.

"Yes I am" she said smiling at her.

Sam got up from the floor and Cleo took her hand as they walked down to the kitchen. Jack picked Cleo up and put her on a chair at the breakfast bar and passed a plate to her before he and Sam sat down on each side of her and started eating their sandwich.

When they were finished with their snack, Sam cleaned up the plates and let Jack go play with Cleo for a while. While she was drying her hands there was a knock on the door, so she went to answer it. She looked through the peephole before opening up the door; it was a delivery company.

"Hello, can I help you?" Sam asked.

"Yes, is this the O'Neill residence?" the man asked.

"Yes," Sam answered.

"I have three boxes here for a Jack O'Neill" Sam nodded, "we've been expecting them."

"I need you to sign this ma'am" he said as he handed her a clipboard; she signed her name and passed it back to him. He turned to go back to the truck to get the boxes. Jack came up behind her as he was walking away.

"Who is it Sam?" he asked.

"A delivery man, I think its Cleo's things" she told him.

Jack nodded and moved to help the man. When the three boxes were inside the living room and the delivery man was gone, Jack started opening the boxes.

"You were right, it is Cleo's things" Jack said to her. There was another knock on the door and this time Jack went to answer it. When he opened the door, Janet and Cassie were standing there.

"Hey Doc, Cass, what can I do for the two of you?" Jack asked.

Janet smiled and looked inside and saw the three boxes and bags of toys scattered all over the living room.

"I think it may be what we can do for you" she said and smiled at him.

"We have come to offer to take Cleo to the park and maybe for some food afterwards," Cassie said. "We thought maybe you and Sam could use some time to get Cleo's room sorted out with out her running around" she said.

Jack thought about this before looking at Sam.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It would be easer" she said nodding.

"Ok" he said to Janet, then called down the hall "Cleo, honey" they could hear the little pitter patter of feet running down the hall. She stopped in front of him and he bent down and picked her up.

"Honey, would you like to go to the park with Janet and Cass" he said, pointing at them.

"You remember them from last night don't you?" she nodded and waved at them.

"So do you want to go to the park and play for a while?" he asked.

"Yes" she said enthusiastically.

"Ok" Jack said as Sam came up behind them with Cleo's shoes and jacket. Once they were both on Jack looked at Janet.

"Are you going to walk or do you want the car seat?"

"Umm, I think we should probably take the car seat" Jack nodded.

He went out and got the car seat out of his truck and put it in Janet's car; then put Cleo in it and buckled her up and gave her a kiss on the check as he said good bye and closed the door before turning to Janet.

"How long do you think you will be?" he asked.

"How long do you want us to be?" she asked sweetly and smiled.

Jack moved closer to her so only she could hear,

"Someone has been spending too much alone time with Danny" Janet's head shot up and she looked at him in shock and then blushed. Jack smiled and turned to Sam who was in the door way.

"You owe me twenty bucks" he said, before turning back to Janet.

"Whenever you get tired of her company bring her back" he said turning to the back window of the car and waving goodbye to Cleo.

"Bye sweetie, have fun in the park."

"Ok" she said smiling and then waved back at him.

When they had driven off, Jack walked back up the steps to the house.

"What do mean I owe you twenty bucks?" she asked him.

"The Doc and Danny have a thing going" he said grinning.

"Damn" she muttered, "how about I find another way of paying" she said giving him a sweet kiss…"like I don't abandon you to do all the unpacking" she said before walking back into the house.

She heard Jack mumble something but couldn't tell what it was. It didn't take them long to clean up the house and fix Cleo's room. They filed up the shelves and toy chests with the old and new things. Jack was taking things out of the last box when he came across the photos. There was one of Alex and Cleo just after she was born and one of Alex and Charlie on their wedding day.

Jack stopped what he was doing when he saw that photo. He could remember that day so clearly; he had been Charlie's best man, and he remembered the look on Charlie's face when he saw Alex walk down the isle. Jack had moved slightly and placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"You lay a finger on her the wrong way and I will kill you Charlie."

"I would never think of hurting someone so beautiful Jack" the man had assured him, and Jack knew he was being sincere.

Sam noticed Jack had stopped and was now staring out into space; she moved over to him.

"Jack?" she said.

He looked at her, and then showed her the picture.

"I threaten to kill him if he hurt her" Sam smiled, thinking of how protective Jack probably was of his little sisters.

"Do you know what he said to me? He said that she was too beautiful to hurt" Sam looked at the picture.

"She was very beautiful" Jack nodded, "yeah inside and out."

They both went back to work and when they finished they moved into the living room. Jack called Janet to see how things were going; she told him that they were going to see a movie and grab some dinner afterwards, so they would be gone for another couple of hours.

TBC…


	15. Chapter 15

Jack hung up after talking to Janet and walked back to the living room and sat down next to Sam.

"They went to see a movie and their going to get some dinner afterwards, so it's just the two of us for dinner" he said to her.

"Do you want to cook or order take out?" she asked him.

"Take out sounds good, less dishes afterwards" he said smiling, Sam nodded.

"Chinese or Pizza?" Jack though about it, "Pizza, I'll go make the phone call," he said standing up.

He walked into the kitchen and called in an order for a pepperoni pizza since they both liked the same toppings on their pizza.

When he walked back into the living room Sam was flipping through the channels on the TV.

"There's nothing good on TV these days" she said, then stopped on a channel; Jack smiled at her.

The two sat watching the Simpson's until the pizza arrived. When it arrived Jack paid for it they both ate their dinner while watching the TV. When all pizza was gone, Jack threw the box and plates away and Sam got them another drink. They snuggled back down on the sofa until Cleo came home.

An hour and half later there was a knock on the door and Sam got up to answer it; when she opened the door, Janet was standing there holding a sleeping Cleo in her arms,

"Hey Sam" she said stepping into the house.

"Hi Janet."

"She fell asleep on the drive back" she told her friend, Sam nodded and took Cleo from Janet.

"So, did the three of you have a good time?" Sam asked.

"Yeah" Cass said walking in the door with the car seat in hand; she passed it to Jack when he reached to take it from her.

"Good, well thanks Janet for looking after her, it really made it easer to get the boxes sorted out" Jack said.

"No problem, Cleo enjoyed the movie we went to see"

"Thanks, that's good to here, so what did you see?"

"Charlie and the chocolate factory"

"Ok was it good?" Jack asked

"Yep" Cassie said.

"Well, we better get going, see you guys later" Janet said.

"Ok, Janet thanks."

"Bye Jack, Sam" Cassie said.

Once the goodnights were finished, Janet and Cassie headed for home. Then it was just Jack, Sam and Cleo in the house. Sam turned to Jack "I'm going to get her ready for bed; it's well past her bedtime" she said looking at the clock. It read 20:15 Jack nodded,

"I'll go lock up and then come in and say goodnight."

Sam just nodded and walked down the hall to Cleo's room. She changed Cleo into her pajamas and was putting her into bed when Jack came in. He walked and over to the bed and they both kissed her and said goodnight before walking out of the room.

They walked into Jack's bedroom and got ready for bed. Once they had changed and gotten into bed, Jack reached for Sam and pulled her over so he could spoon her from behind like he had been doing every night since she been there.

The next few days were uneventful; both Jack and Sam had a few days off so they spent most of the time with Cleo. Sam had pretty much moved out of her house and into Jack's.

It had been four days since Sam had asked for reassignment; Sam and Jack were watching TV and Cleo was in her room playing. There was a knock on the door and Jack rose to get it.

When he opened the door he was shocked to see who it was,

"Jake! What a surprise" Jack said.

"Hello Jack, I came to see Sam," he replied.

"And you of course" he said as an after thought.

Sam had gotten up and walked to the front door when she heard Jack say Jacob's name.

"Hey dad," she said hugging him when he entered the house; they walked into the living room.

"So Jake, how long are you going to be in town?" Jack asked.

"A week or two, I was thinking about going to see Mark." Sam tensed at the mention of her brother; Jacob noticed it and the look she gave Jack.

"I'm going to go see what Cleo's up to" she said leaving the room quickly. Jacob looked at Jack in confusion,

"What did I say?" he asked; Jack looked to see if Sam was gone, "Mark is being and ass to her" Jack said, and then ran his hands through his hair.

"What? Why?" Jacob asked.

"How much did General Hammond tell you?" Jack asked.

Jake looked at Jack and replied,

"Just that I would most likely find Sam here; which by the way is slightly confusing, what in the hell is going on?" Jack cringed.

"Sam has been staying here since we got back from Ireland," now Jacob was really confused.

"Ok hang on, why were the two of you in Ireland?" Jacks face saddened suddenly.

"Jack, what's going on?"

"I was at my little sister's funeral and the Hammond wanted Sam to come with me to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. Her coming sort of backfired because I ended up having to make sure she was ok," Jack said.

"I'm sorry for your loss Jack" Jacob said.

"Yeah, well…"

Jacob looked at Jack, then down the hall to where Sam was.

"You still never said why she was here," he said looking at Jack.

Jack cringed then walked over to the patio doors, signaling for Jacob to follow. They stepped outside and Jack had his back to Jacob and the house, when he began to speak.

"There's no easy way to tell you this…Shannahan was beating up Sam."

Jacob stood there in shocked before the anger took hold,

"That son of a bitch, so help me God when I get-"

"You won't get the chance" Jack cut him off.

"And why the hell not?" Jacob asked.

"Because he is in jail awaiting trial in DC" Jack said turning to the older man. Jacob looked confused for a moment then spoke,

"What aren't you telling me Jack?" his said in a voice filled with anger.

Jack couldn't look at Jacob. "He put some sort of tracker on her clothes, and when we went to Ireland he must have come to looking for her at her house; when she wasn't there, he must have activated the tracker." Jack said, and then he took a deep breath.

"He showed up at my parents house the day of the funeral…he…God Jacob, I never should have let her out of my sight, I'm so sorry!"

All the emotion that Jack had felt for the past week came flooding back, the guilt of letting someone hurt the woman he loved at the forefront.

Jack turned his back to Jacob; he couldn't look at the man. How could he, he had failed to protect his only daughter from the worst violation anyone can ever experience.

"Jack?" Jacob questioned, but when Jack didn't answer he continued,

"What did he do?" there was more concern then anger in the older man's voice.

Jack took a deep breath but still wouldn't answer or look at Jacob. Jacob moved next to Jack and made Jack look at him. He looked Jack straight in the eye, and saw something he never thought he'd see in Jack O'Neill's eyes, pure emotion; no walls, no barriers, nothing but the pain and anguish and love and all of the other emotions running through Jack.

"He raped her" Jack's words were nothing more then a whisper, and with tears falling down his cheeks he dropped his head again.

TBC…


	16. Chapter 16

The two men stood in silence for a long time before Jack finally spoke

The two men stood in silence for a long time before Jack finally spoke.

"I am so sorry Jacob" it was spoken quietly but Jacob still heard him.

Jacob turned to Jack, only now realising the depth of guilt Jack must feel.

"Jack, it wasn't your fault, how could you have known he had trackers on her"

"I should have seen that he was abusing her" he said back. Jacob moved over and stood next to Jack "if she blamed you she wouldn't be here with you now Jack, so don't beat yourself up about it." he said.

"I don't blame you either Jack, and if Sam had told you, Shannahan wouldn't be alive now" so it's probably a good thing she didn't.

Jack didn't say anything for a while and both men just stood in the afternoon sun. It wasn't long until they heard the patio door open and little feet running towards them. Jack immediately built up the walls that had fallen earlier and turned around to see Cleo running out and over to him.

Jacob smiled at the little girl as she reached her arms up for Jack to pick her up; when she was safely in his arms she turned and looked at Jacob.

"Jacob, this is my niece Cleo; Cleo this is Sam's dad Jacob"

Jacob smiled at the little girl,

"Hello Cleo."

"Hello!" she said happily then turned back to Jack.

"Sam make dinner" she said and Jacob looked at Jack.

"You sure that's a good idea Jack?" he joked.

Jack smiled at the man "she's getting better, but maybe we should go supervise" he said the last bit to Cleo, who grinned.

The three made their way into the kitchen to see Sam cooking spaghetti and meatballs. She turned when she heard footsteps,

"Hey," she said to them.

"Hey Sam" Jack said.

"Hi honey" Jacob said moving over to her.

"That smells really good"

She frowned at him, then looked at Jack and then back at Jacob.

"I'm not that bad of a cook, thank you very much! There's no need to sound so surprised that it smells good" she said, then whacked his hand when he reached to taste the sauce.

Jacob smiled "Just like your mother, always whacking me when she was cooking" Sam smiled at him.

"With good reason" she said back to him.

He held up his hands in surrender, "I give, I give" he said backing away smiling.

"Why don't you two _gentlemen_ set the table with Cleo while I finish this" she said to them.

They both nodded and moved to set the table. Once everything was done and the meal was served, Sam sat Cleo in the seat between her and Jack so they could help her eat the very messy meal.

Jacob smiled at the three of them,

_'That child has changed them Jacob'_

'Yes she has, but somehow I don't think it was just Cleo'

_'What are you referring to?'_ Selmac asked.

'A lot has changed since we were last here Sel; you heard what Sam has been going through and what happened in Ireland, and you saw the guilt on Jack's face and in his voice'

_'Yes I did, and it only shows how much he truly loves her, and the child. Hopefully she will help push them in the right direction'._

'We will have to wait and see' Jacob said to his faithful symbiote.

He looked back to Jack and Sam and their attempt to get Cleo to stay clean and eat her food; he smiled, they looked so much like a family already.

When the meal was finished, it was obvious that Jack and Sam had failed in their attempt to keep Cleo clean; she was covered in food so Jack said,

"I'll go give Cleo a bath" then he looked at Sam.

"I'll clean up" she said,

"I'll help Sam" Jacob said.

Jack picked Cleo up and left the dinning room to walk down the hallway to the bathroom.

When Jacob was sure Jack was gone he turned to Sam "I'm sorry if I upset you earlier when I mentioned Mark."

Sam looked at her father then down at the floor "Jack told you" it was more of a statement then a question.

"He only told me because of what happened in Ireland," he said looking at Sam.

Sam continued to put the dishes in the dishwasher; Jacob looked at her for a moment then said, "Sam, I know you may be angry at him for telling me but-"

"That's not it" she said, putting the last dish away.

She looked up at him finally, but couldn't hold eye contact with him and turned and walked into the living room. When she heard him following her she stood with her back to him looking out the backyard.

"I let someone do that to me and I couldn't stop him, even with all my training" he could hear the tears in her voice and he took a few steps forward so that he was standing next to her.

"Sam, honey" he tried to talk but she cut him off,

"I tried, I really did but I couldn't stop him, he would just…, every time he hit me it was when I was turned away from him or not expecting it, and I was just so embarrassed that I was letting it happen that I couldn't tell anyone or do anything about it."

Jacob moved in front of her and pulled her into his arms.

They stood like that for a long while before she spoke. "I'm sorry Daddy."

Jacob was shocked at her words; he lifted her chin up so she was looking at him and said emphatically,

"There is nothing to be sorry about Sam, absolutely nothing, do you hear me."

She nodded and buried her head in his chest crying softly; he rubbed her back for a moment. They separated when they heard little feet running down the hall and saw Cleo dressed in her jammies coming straight for them. Sam bent down and picked her up.

"Hey sweetie, did you have a good bath?"

She nodded then asked "Why sad?" and put her little hand on Sam's face.

Sam smiled weakly and said,

"Don't worry honey I'm not sad when you're here" and gave the little girl a hug.

Then she looked up to see Jack standing a few feet away with a questioning look on his face, she just shook her head indicating that she would talk to him later.

Cleo was looking at Jacob then asked, "You stay for movie?"

He looked at Jack, who nodded "Might as well," Jacob said.

Cleo why don't you take Jacob and find a video to watch" she nodded and Sam put her down.

Once Cleo was on the ground she reached for Jacob's hand and the two went over to the video cabinet to pick out a movie while Jack and Sam moved into the kitchen.

When they were safely away from Jacob and Cleo, Jack asked "you ok?"

She nodded, then said "I will be" and moved into his arms so he could hug her.

"Thank you, Jack."

"For what?" he asked.

She smiled up at him "for always being there for me when I need you." Before he could say anything she leaned in kissed him.

TBC…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

When they pulled apart from their kiss, they grabbed the drinks and moved into the living room where Jacob and Cleo were sitting down waiting for them. Cleo had picked the movie Pocahontas to watch; they were half way through the movie when she fell asleep so Jack picked her up and took her to room and put her to bed.

When he returned, Sam and Jacob were talking "So Mark is being difficult because he doesn't believe that Shanahan would do something like that?" Sam nodded and said "pretty much."

Jack moved into the room and sat on the sofa next to Sam; Jacob was sitting in one of the recliners.

"Dad there's something else I need to tell you" she said nervously,

He frowned and looked at Jack then back to Sam.

"Ok" was all he said.

"Umm…I asked General Hammond for reassignment to the lab permanently" she said in one breath.

Jacob sat in silence for a moment then looked at Jack, "Was this your idea or hers?"

"It was mine Dad," Sam said before Jack had a chance; she moved forward on the sofa.

"Dad, something else happened in Ireland that you should know. I…umm, I miscarried after Pete raped me. Jack's sister is a doctor and she said it as because of the trauma of the rape combined with the stress of what Pete had been doing to me," the sadness and despair in her voice had Jack reaching for her hand.

Sam took an unsteady breath and continued, "after what happened in Ireland I decided that as much as I love going off world, I…I want more and I want it with Jack. With the miscarriage and all of the other things my body has gone through over the years, I don't want to push it. It just isn't worth the risk anymore and I don't want to take the chance of going through the gate and getting hurt" she said.

She turned and looked at Jack "I'm not pushing, but someday if you, I mean…" she stopped said when she saw the look on his face. Jack squeezed her hand and nodded, understanding where she was coming from and what she wasn't saying.

Jacob sat looking at his daughter and nodded.

"It's your life to do with as you wish Sam, so long as you are happy, I am happy for you" he finally said.

Sam smiled at him; she'd known he would be a little upset at the fact that she wasn't going to be doing any field work or gate travel.

"It's not like she's giving up the Air Force, she just won't be doing any field work" Jack said.

Jacob frowned, so Sam explained "the Joint Chiefs want me to keep my rank" Jacob nodded in understanding.

They sat talking for a while before Jack looked at the clock and saw it was after midnight.

"You might as well stay here Jake, I'll make up the spare bed for you" Jack said standing up and leaving the room.

"I thought Jack only had three bedrooms" Jacob said to Sam.

She blushed and looked down at her hands "well yeah, he does."

Jacob nodded, he knew Jack wouldn't push Sam into something like this, so it must have been her choice.

Jack came back a few minutes later "Ok, the bed is made up for you Jake," he said as Jacob stood up.

"I'll show you the way," he said.

"I'll lock up," Sam said standing up.

Jack showed Jacob to his room is for the night; "you know where the bathroom and everything else is right?" Jack asked.

Jacob nodded and turned to the younger man "how long have you and Sam been sharing a bed?" he asked out off the blue, catching Jack off guard.

"Umm…"

"Don't lie to me Jack" Jacob warned.

"Since Ireland, but I swear to God Jake nothing has happened, not until she's ready" Jack said. "You know I would never do anything to hurt her."

Jacob nodded, and then Sam came up behind Jack.

"Goodnight Sam" he said to his daughter.

"Goodnight Dad."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug before she headed to Jack's room. Jacob grabbed Jack's arm before he could walk away,

"There is something I want to talk to you about in the morning," he said.

"Alone" he added and Jack nodded.

"Janet is going to take Sam and Cleo to the mall tomorrow, we can talk then" Jacob nodded and let go of Jack's arm.

"Goodnight Jack."

"Goodnight Jacob."

Jack left Jacob's room and headed to his bedroom. Sam was already in bed sitting up waiting for him; he quickly went to the bathroom. He came back out in his boxers and a t-shirt and crawled into bed and pulled Sam close to him.

She laid her head on his chest and curled her body into his side.

"That went surprisingly well," she said while playing with his t-shirt.

Jack nodded "yes it did, but are you really sure Sam? I mean you will be giving up a lot and I'm not sure I'm ready for…I mean this whole fatherhood thing is pretty scary for me." Sam smiled and placed her hand tenderly on his cheek,

"I know Jack, but what I will be getting in return means so much more to me and we can take everything nice and slow. I won't push you Jack, I meant that." Jack smiled at her and said "ok, now lets get some sleep, huh?" she nodded and he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. They both fell asleep quickly.

Jack woke to the smell of coffee; he looked over to see Sam still asleep so he carefully untangled himself and went to the bathroom to relieved himself and wash his hands. Then went back out to the bedroom and got dress, then walked down to the kitchen.

When he entered the kitchen he saw Cleo sitting on the counter talking to Jacob who was making pancakes. She was telling him all about what had been happening since she got here which made Jack smile. She stopped when she saw Jack

"Morning unkie 'J'" she said.

"Good morning my little angel" he said moving over to her and giving her a hug, then he turned to Jacob.

"Morning Jake"

"Hey Jack" he said.

Jack turned back to Cleo "how about you go watch some cartoons," he said to her.

She nodded and held up her arms to him. He picked her up and carried her into the living room and switched on the TV for her, then headed back into the kitchen.

When he got there Jacob was still cooking but turned when Jack walked back. Jack went and got himself cup of coffee.

"She reminds me of someone" Jacob said.

Jack smiled "she's a lot like her mother, but still has some of her father in her" he said.

"So, she's your sisters' daughter?" Jake asked.

Jack nodded "Yeah, she was one of my youngest sisters, actually now that I think about it you've met her" Jack said. "My dad had a picture of her with you, Hammond, Ryan and Hayes."

"Really, what was her name?" Jacob asked.

"Alex," Jack said smiling,

Jacob thought about it for a minute before turning quickly and looking Jack in the eye.

"I knew you reminded me of someone" he said pointing the spatula at Jack.

"She was with us when she was a lieutenant because she beat the crap out of a superior officer." Jack nodded and Jacob continued, "she was such a good officer and had such potential that we all agreed we didn't want to loose her to a court marshal. Fortunately the powers that be agreed to let us handle her disciplinary action ourselves."

"Was it Cromwell, because he left me for dead in Iraq?" he asked. Jacob nodded then added "It was because of those special circumstances that we were able to avoid the court marshal"

"Then I guess I owe you my thanks."

Jacob nodded "She was a damn fine officer Jack," he said and Jack nodded.

"She better have been, I trained her myself" Jacked mused, then said "thanks Jacob, that means a lot coming from you" Jack said.

"Well it's true, plus she was the only one out of all the smart ass insubordinate officer's that could actually get us all drunk at once" he chuckled at the memory.

Jack looked dumbfounded for a minute,

"So Alex got what, you would have all been colonels at the time, four colonels drunk?" Jack asked.

Jacob nodded "four drunken Colonels and she was a lieutenant. My God, I can't wait to see Dixon's face when he hears this" Jack said.

TBC…


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Jack was still laughing when Sam walked into the kitchen. She looked at the two men with a confused look on her face, until Jack explained what they were laughing about.

"Oh" she said, then smiled,

"Heck, I remember bumping into them once on the Las Vegas strip. It was the night we got Lucy and Patch married" she said smiling at the memory.

Jacob groaned "don't remind me, Henry and Michaela still hold a grudge for that" he said.

"Ok, change of subject, the food's ready" Jacob said, putting the food on the table.

Jack went to get Cleo while Sam got the drinks out of the fridge. They ate breakfast talking and laughing at some of the story's Jacob was telling. Soon enough there was a knock at the door and Jack went to get it.

Janet and Cass were standing on the other side smiling.

"Hey Uncle Jack" Cass said.

"Hello Colonel" Janet said.

He frowned at her "Janet, we're off duty why do you insist on calling me colonel?" he asked.

"Because I know it drives you insane" she said smiling sweetly and walked past him into the house.

Sam was just walking out of the kitchen with Cleo in her arms.

"Sorry, we lost track of the time, I just need to get dressed,"

"So we can see" Cassie said looking at her attire; she was wearing one of Jack's hockey jerseys and his sweat pants, Sam looked down and looked up blushing.

"That's not what I meant" she began, but Janet jumped in,

"Off course not Sam, that would be against the regs" she said sincerely.

Sam looked away and said nothing but walked off down the hall; Janet looked to Jack who just shrugged and tried to look innocent.

Janet saw the look in Jack's eye and walked pass him into the hall.

"I was kidding the other day you know, I never meant for you to ruin her career. If the general or Jacob finds out the two of you broke the regs they'll kill you," she said, yelling so Sam could hear down the hallway.

Jacob heard Janet and was now standing in the door way to the kitchen and cleared his throat and looked at Jack.

"I assume she doesn't know then?" Jack shook his head no.

"You and the General are the only ones that know, although I guess by now the Joint Chiefs and the President know as well" Jack said.

Janet looked from one man to the other confused; Sam walked back down the hall once she and Cleo were dressed. She stopped when she saw the confusion on Janet's face.

Janet looked at her, "what's going on Sam?" Cassie asked before her mother had a chance to.

Sam looked at Jack, who just nodded, so Sam turned back to Cass,

"I asked to be taken off SG1 and reassigned a few days ago. We were going tell you and the boys at the same time but…" she trailed off.

Janet stood there in shock, Cass was beaming.

"So that means the two of you are together," she said, happily Sam nodded.

After a few more minutes of talking the ladies decided they should head out. Sam told Jack they would be back in time for dinner and suggested a barbeque for SG1, Cassie, Janet and her dad.

Before Sam left she gave Jack a hug and discreetly asked him "are you sure it's a good idea to be alone with my dad?" Jack smiled.

"I'll be fine, and so will he" he reassured her "I promise" then he gave her a quick kiss before she and Cleo left with Janet and Cassie.

When the girls had left, Jack and Jacob walked back into the house. Jacob led the way into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

Jack moved over to the coffee pot and poured two mugs and then walked back to the dinning room and sat down opposite Jacob, sliding one of the mugs over to him.

They sat in a tense silence before Jacob finally spoke,

"What are you going to do?"

Jack knew what he was referring to and pulled out the ring box that he had put into his pocket that morning and placed it on the table. Jacob looked at the box, then up to Jack then back to it again. Then he picked it up and opened it.

"It was my grandmother's engagement ring; she left it to me in her will because I was the oldest out of all the grandchildren and I always loved it" Jack explained.

"You never gave it to Sara?" Jacob asked

Jack shook his head "no she wanted a new one in yellow gold, and somehow it just didn't feel right giving it to her" Jacob nodded. Jack looked up at Jacob and said,

"I want to ask your-" Jacob cut him off

"As long as it's what she wants and makes her happy you have my permission and approval" Jacob said.

Jack smiled "thank you" and they sat in silence for a while before Jack spoke up again.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Jacob looked at Jack "Is she ok really?" he asked carefully.

Jack sat for a moment contemplating how to answer the question.

"She has her good moments and bad ones," he said. "She is having some nightmares, but I can usually get her to talk to me about them and that seems to be helping; most nights she is able to go back to sleep."

Jacob nodded, and they talked for a few more minutes before Jacob said that he was going to go for a walk. Jack nodded, he knew the older man needed to think and 'talk' to Selmac. When Jacob left Jack cleaned up the kitchen and did a few other odds and ends that needed to be done around the house.

It was about lunchtime when Jacob came back; Jack had made lunch for both of them and they sat talking, sharing funny stories about anything and everything that had happened to them over they years (that wasn't classified off course). It was late in the afternoon when Sam and Cleo arrived home from shopping with a few bags in their hands.

Cleo came running up to Jack; "Unkie 'J', Sam got a really pretty dress" she squealed as Jack picked her up and put her on his knee.

"She did, did she" he said tickling his little niece, and then looked up at Sam smiling.

"Have a good day?"

She nodded "Yeah, not too bad; Janet and Cass will be back in an hour or so for dinner" she said as she moved out of the room and down to Jack's bed room.

TBC…


	19. Chapter 19

19

Sam was sitting on the deck with Cleo, Jacob was in his room and Jack was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Jack called out as he went to answer the door.

"Hey Jack, how have you been?" Daniel asked.

"Not too bad, how have you been, find any new rocks to play with?" Jack asked smiling, seeing Teal'c just behind him and hearing Janet and Cassie pulled up.

Daniel just smiled and ignored Jack's familiar comment and walked past him into the house to be greeted by Jacob who was waiting down the hall.

"Jacob. When did you get into town?" they both shook hands.

"I arrived last night and will be staying for a while" he said smiling.

"It is good to see you Jacob Carter and Selmac" Teal'c said, nodding to the man. "You too Teal'c" replied Selmac.

Then Janet and Cassie walked in the door and said their hellos to Jack and Jacob.

They all went out back where Sam and Cleo were. They all had salad, bake potatoes, corn on the cob, chicken and steak. They talked during the entire dinner, enjoying each others company.

When the meal was finished they sat back and talked before Sam rose and started to clear the plates. Janet and Cass stood up to help while the men sat talking; when the women were in the kitchen Janet turned to Sam.

"When are you going to tell them?" Janet asked.

Sam stopped moving for a second and turned to look at Janet then back to what she was doing.

"I don't know" was her answer as she walked back into the garden and sat down next to her father and Jack.

Cleo looked at Sam and crawled off Jack's lap and onto hers. Sam put her arms around her as she laid her head down on Sam's chest, listening to the conversation going on between the others.

"I don't know Daniel; it seems…what's the word?" Jack asked Jacob

"Out there?"

"No"

"Farfetched?"

"No"

"Lame" Sam said.

"Yes, that's it" Jack said smiling while throwing his arms up in the air and then looking at Sam.

The others around the table noticed the way they were looking at each other, the same way they had all evening. Jack turned back to the conversation but as it continued he reached for Sam's hand under the table.

They all happily talked for a while before Sam looked down and saw that Cleo was fast asleep in her arms, she looked up at Jack

"I'm going to go put her to bed" she said, gently lifting Cleo up in her arms as she got up and went into the house.

As soon as Sam was out of hearing range Daniel looked Jack in the eye.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Jack, being Jack, acted dumb "She's putting Cleo to bed" he said to Daniel. "She just told us" Daniel frowned at Jack

"Don't act dumb with me, I mean with the two of you."

Daniel looked at the other four occupants of the table; neither Janet nor Cass would look at him. The three men were looking at him revealing nothing, but then it wasn't that unusual for them to be able to hide things, it was what they were all trained to do.

So he turned to Janet "What do you know that I don't?" she looked at him.

"Umm…well, umm…"

"Oh come on, you can stand up to me and you're afraid of Daniel?" Jack asked. She turned and glared at him.

"See, you just proved my point" Jack said, waving his hand at her then mumbled what sounded like "so screwing the doc does get you on her good side."

Jacob had apparently heard Jack's comment and was smiling.

"So what's going on?" Daniel asked again to no one in particular.

"I asked to be transferred to the labs on a permanent basis" came a voice from the patio door.

They all turned to see Sam standing there.

"You what?" Daniel asked.

"I asked to be removed from SG-1 and reassigned into the science labs full time" Sam said.

Not moving from her spot until Jack reached out a hand to her, Sam hesitantly accepted it and moved over to him. He gently pulled her to sit on his lap, which she did without hesitation.

Daniel gaped from one to the other, and then finally asked "when?"

"I am officially off SG-1 as of the end of the week" she answered.

Daniel nodded and pointed his finger from one to the other "and this?"

"And what Danny?" Jack asked.

"How long have the two of you been together?"

"How long have you and the doc?" Jack asked back. Both Janet and Daniel blushed at Jack's question.

Sam gently hit Jack on the arm and glared at him before turning back to Daniel.

"You know what happened in Ireland, right?" she asked and he nodded.

"Well, I finally realised that I was trying to make something out of nothing; Pete wasn't who I really wanted. I was just alone and wanted more in my life, but all I did was end up making it worse" Jack tightened his hold on her a little.

The rest of the occupants sat in silence for a while before Teal'c spoke.

"I am pleased that both yourself and O'Neill have finally found happiness Major Carter."

"And it's about damn time" Cassie said smiling.

They all continued talking and laughing for a while then Janet said she needed to get home because she was working in the morning. The boys said they were going to head out also.

After they left Jacob said that he was going to bed, leaving Sam and Jack alone.

They were sitting on the deck, Sam still in Jack's lap when he spoke.

"Sam will you come with me?" he asked; she nodded and they both stood up. Jack reached for her hand as he led her over to the ladder. They climbed up onto the roof and sat down on the bench with Sam on his lap, her back to his chest.

They sat in silence for a while before Jack pulled the ring out of his pocket and wrapped both arms around Sam's waist.

He sat up so his mouth was next to her ear and whispered "Sam."

"Hum" she turned her head to the side to look at him.

"I love you."

She smiled "I love you too."

"Good" he said and kissed her cheek.

"I want to ask you something" he said.

"Ask way Jack" she said.

Jack hesitated, "I'm afraid you'll run if I ask you" he said.

She turned to look at him and saw in his eyes that he was genuinely worried; she leaned forward and kissed him.

"I won't, I promise" she said quietly after they broke apart.

Jack smiled slightly; "ok" he said looking at her.

"I know this is fast, but I love you so much" he lifted his right hand and opened it so she could see what was in his hand,

"Samantha Carter will you marry me?"

She sat in shock before turning to Jack and kissing him full.

"Yes, I will marry you" she said when they broke apart.

Jack kissed her again and when they separated this time Jack slipped the ring onto her finger and gave her a small kiss. Sam stood up and took his hand in hers then pulled him up from his seat and led him over to the ladder. They made their way back down and into the house.

Jack and Sam locked up the house in silence before moving towards Jack's room. As soon as the door closed behind Jack, Sam was kissing him and he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed gently laying her down.

They finally eased their lips apart, but held onto each other; "Are you sure Sam?" Jack asked, looking down into her eyes. Sam reached up and placed her hand against his cheek "yes" she said smiling.

Jack leaned down to kiss her again, relieved and a little anxious with her answer. He wanted so much to make this good for her. He knew she would never forget her abuse at the hands of Pete, but he wanted to start making new memories with her.

They removed one another's clothing and made passionate love for the first time that night. Jack showed Sam how much he loved her and they took it slow while exploring each other bodies for the first time, but definitely not the last time.

TBC…

_**One more chapter!! And then that's it!! **_

_**Thank you all soooooooo much for all the reviews! I've loved them! and am so glad you liked the fic! there's just one more chapter to go and that's the end of my fic 'O'Neill Family'**_


	20. Chapter 20

Over the next few weeks a lot of things happened. Jacob went to visit Mark and had a long chat with him; he stayed for a week then came back to stay with Sam and Jack for a few more days. Sam was transferred to the labs and was watching Cleo as well.

Life was slowly getting back to normal; Sam had a few sessions with the psychologist and was making great progress. Jacob had to return to the Tok'ra, but promised to return soon. Two weeks after Jacob left, Jack was on a mission with SG-1 and Sam and Cleo were sitting in her lab when there was a knock on the door.

Sam looked up when Cleo called "Unkie Dave."

Colonel David Dixon bent down and picked up Cleo "hello sweetie" he said and kissed her head then turned to Sam "Carter, or should that be O'Neill?" he said smiling.

"No sir, it's still Carter…for the moment" she said "What can I do for you sir?"

"Oh, Sib wants you and Cleo to join us for dinner; she knows Jack is on a mission tonight so…" he said "Oh and don't worry she cooks like Lea," Sam smiled.

"How can I resist that, what time?" she asked.

"Seven, seven thirty"

"Ok"

That evening was great fun and Dixon was right, Sib did cook like Lea. His family, like they had done in Ireland, made Sam feel like she was one of them; which technically she would be in a few months.

SG-1 came home around noon the next day and Jack went to Sam's lab. Both Sam and Cleo were there, "hello, how are my two favorite ladies?"

"Unkie J" Cleo called and ran up to him and hugged him "missed you."

"I missed you too;" he picked her up "Did you take care of Sam?"

Cleo nodded "and we had dinner with Auntie Sib last night."

Jack looked at Sam "Dixon asked me yesterday and I said yes" she shrugged.

Jack smiled "well it must have been good since you went by yourself and came back alive."

She whacked him gently on the arm and then kissed him on the cheek "have you had lunch?" she asked.

"No not yet,"

"Good we were just about to go" she said and they made their way down to the mess.

All the base personnel had gotten used to seeing Cleo around; she was usually with someone from SG-1 or Janet and on a couple of occasions even the general. The man loved the little girl; she was so quiet and loved to just sit there and watch what was going on. Cleo didn't know fully what was going on but knew it was a secret and not to tell anyone.

Four months after the incident in Ireland, Jack, Sam, Dixon, and General Hammond were in Washington DC for Pete's trial. It was difficult week for Sam, but Jack was always by her side. John was also there as a witness.

After all the testimony was completed, it took the jury less then two hours to convict Pete of all charges. He was sentenced and taken away. Sam moved to the bailiff and handed him the engagement ring and asked if he would give it to Pete. He stated that he couldn't do that, but that he would have it put with his other belongings. "Thank you" she said and then moved back over to Jack who wrapped his arms around her.

"You ok?"

"I am now."

They all went out to lunch to celebrate, then headed for Bolling Air Force Base to catch the transport that was waiting for them. Dixon needed to get home because Sib's due date was fast approaching and with twin on the way, they all knew she would be early.

Two days after getting home Sib gave birth to two beautiful little girls; Anna and Caitlin or Cat for short.

Three months after that Sam and Jack got married; Sam wore a beautiful satin princess cut gown with a square neckline and lace over her shoulders and down her arms. Jack had given her a diamond and pearl necklace and matching earrings the night before that she also wore.

Cleo and Emily, Mark's daughter, were her flower girls; they wore the cutest satin and tulle sleeveless dresses. The necklines were accented with multi-coloured embroidery.

Janet was Sam's matron of honour and Cassie, Sahara, Sib, Mel and Jennifer Hailey were her bridesmaids. They wore strapless satin A-line dresses with elegant beading in a soft pale pink

Dixon was Jack's best man and Jennings, Daniel, Teal'c, Mick and Feretti were groomsmen. They all wore there uniforms except for Teal'c and Daniel who wore tuxes.

It turned out to be a fairly large wedding; most of the SGC came as well as all of Jack's family. Mark and his family even made the trip. They had the wedding at the romantic Cheyenne Mountain Resort. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding with Sam the centre of it all; Jacob gave Sam away and Jack was almost overwhelmed as they were walking down the aisle.

For their honeymoon they went up to Jack's cabin for a week while Cleo stayed with Sib and Dixon.

They had been on their honeymoon for a couple of days and were lying in bed one night. Jack was running a hand up and down Sam's back while she lay on his chest "Sam?"

"Hum"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I've been wondering about this for a while; when we were in Ireland, what did my mum say to you that made you more relaxed?"

Sam looked up at him and smiled "She told me that there was no reason to be afraid of anyone anymore; that she had raised her sons to be gentlemen, to treat women well and to never, ever strike one. She also said that all of you knew it was your responsibility to protect the ones you love, and do anything in their power to keep them safe. And if she knew anything in this world, it was that you loved me." Sam paused then said "you have shown me that this is true not just in the past six months, but for the last six years."

Jack kissed her "I would do anything to make sure you are safe."

"I know, and I love you even more because of it."

"I love you too."

They snuggled down and fell asleep

When they arrived home things went back to normal. Two months later Sam went to see Janet. She had Cleo in her arms when they walked into the infirmary.

"Hey Sam what can I do for you?" Janet asked.

"I need to ask you for a favor" Sam said. Janet looked at her friend and smiled.

Just then Lt. Hailey walked in "Jen!" Cleo called. Cleo loved Jen; she was really nice and she was her Uncle Dave's 2IC.

"Hey Cleo" the young woman said "The colonel was wondering if you had any aspirin" she said to Janet.

"And why pray tell could he not come and get them himself?"

The young woman just smiled, Janet shook her head and walked over to the cabinet and pulled out some aspirin and handed it to Lt. Hailey.

"Thanks ma'am" she said, and then she began to leave.

"Jen" Sam called.

"Yeah" she turned back.

"Would you do me a really big favour?" she asked,

"Sure"

"Will you look after Cleo for a while?"

The young woman smiled and said "Of course" then took Cleo's hand "Lets see if we can make your uncle Dixon's head hurt more" she said to the little girl as they walked out the door.

Sam and Janet laughed. Then Janet turned to Sam "So you think you're-"

"I don't know" Sam said.

"Ok, well let's get some tests done and we'll see."

Sam and Janet were sitting in Janet's office talking when a nurse came in "Ma'am" she said and handed her a file.

"Thank you" Janet replied and waited until the nurse was out the door before opening it. She smiled and set the folder down; "congratulations Sam, you're a month and a half pregnant"

Sam smiled and stood and the two women hugged "were you and Jack trying?"

Sam nodded "We talked about it while we were up at the cabin; he said that he would like to have kids again, that Cleo has helped him a lot"

"We've all seen that" Janet said "so when are you going to tell him?" Sam just smiled and walked out the room "Sam!" Janet called.

Sam went to see General Hammond after seeing Janet, she told him about the baby, and he was so pleased to hear that she was pregnant.

Just as they were finishing their conversation the klaxons went off. They both made their way to the control room. Walter looked up at them "Its SG-1 sir, they are on time and requesting to return home" he said.

"Open the iris" Hammond said and nodded at Sam; she made her way to the gateroom and was standing at the bottom of the ramp when the team stepped through; Daniel first then Jonas (who had come back to the SGC four months ago after his people started a full scale global war) then Teal'c and finally Jack.

"Hey Sam, wasn't expecting you" Daniel said.

"Yeah, I was talking to the general when the klaxons went off, so here I am."

"Well I for one am not complaining" Jack said moving towards his wife. He pulled her into a hug and then kissed her.

As she held him close she whispered "hello daddy, we missed you." Jack pulled back to look at her.

She took is hand and put it on her stomach; "really?" he asked, she nodded and a huge smile spread across his face.

He picked her up and twirled her around "Jack!" she squealed, but he just said "I'm going to be a dad" then he put her down and kissed her again. Everyone in the gateroom and control room cheered.

When they broke apart Jack murmured "you know twins run in my family right?"

SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-

A year and a half after Jack and Sam had gone to Ireland for Alex's funeral; they stood in the family plot once again, in front of the grave stones of Alex and Charlie.

Cleo was in the middle of them holding a red rose. Jack was holding his two month old son Jonathan Jacob O'Neill, 'JJ' for short, while Sam was holding their daughter Alexandra Elisabeth O'Neill, 'Ally' for short.

Cleo stepped forward "Hello Mummy, hello Daddy" she said "I brought you a flower." She laid the rose on the head stone and said "Unkie 'J' and Auntie Sam are here too." She looked back at Sam and Jack; they both smiled at her "They brought their new babies, JJ and Ally." Cleo sat down crossing her legs; "Grandma says that JJ looks just like Unkie 'J' did when he was a baby. And Grandpa Jacob, he's Auntie Sam's dad, says Ally looks just like Auntie Sam did when she was a baby. We all live in a big, pretty house Unkie Jack bought and I go to school with Hannah and Tim but they're in a different class then me. I have lot of friends, but my best friend is…" Sam and Jack moved closer together listening to Cleo talk.

Jack maneuvered JJ so that he could wrap an arm around Sam, and murmured "you have made me the happiest man in the galaxy, I love you Sam" then kissed her.

"I love you to Jack" Sam said, then they both turned back to Cleo; she was finished talking and was standing up.

"Bye Mummy, bye Daddy, I'll come see you again soon" then looked back at Jack and Sam "Right?"

"Of course honey" Jack said.

"Let's go back to the house now, it's almost lunch time and your grandma will be waiting" Sam said, extending a hand out to Cleo.

Cleo nodded and took her hand. "I'll be there in a minute" Jack said; Sam looked at him and nodded, she knew that he needed to talk to Alex and Charlie as well.

Jack waited until Sam and Cleo were out of hearing range then looked down at the baby asleep in his arms, then to the grave stone. "Thank you, both of you; you have both saved my ass so many times and now you have given me a family." He turned to look at Sam and Cleo and his new baby girl; "I'm sorry that neither of you got to spend much time with Cleo and that you never got to meet JJ and Ally. I know they both would have loved you." Again he looked at the sleeping baby in his arms "but I promise you that Cleo and all my children will know you." He looked at the house and he could just see Sam standing in the door way, then he turned back to the grave. "I have to go now, but as I said to Cleo, we will be back." He laid his hand on the head stone and said "Bye guys."

Then he made his way back to the house, to his family and his future.

The End

Well? what did we think? :P

Thank you to every one who read and who review'd my fic! I loved to hear what you wall thought of it :D

Love Little Miss SciFi


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